Jordan
general assessment: service has improved recently with
increased use of digital switching equipment; microwave radio relay
transmission and coaxial and fiber-optic cable are employed on trunk
lines; growing mobile-cellular usage in both urban and rural areas
is reducing use of fixed-line services; Internet penetration remains
modest and slow-growing
domestic: 1995 telecommunications law opened all non-fixed-line
services to private competition; in 2005, monopoly over fixed-line
services terminated and the entire telecommunications sector was
opened to competition; mobile-cellular usage has increased and
teledensity reached 85 per 100 persons in 2008
international: country code - 962; landing point for the Fiber-Optic
Link Around the Globe (FLAG) submarine cable network that provides
links to Asia, Middle East, Europe; satellite earth stations - 33 (3
Intelsat, 1 Arabsat, and 29 land and maritime Inmarsat terminals);
fiber-optic cable to Saudi Arabia and microwave radio relay link
with Egypt and Syria; participant in Medarabtel (2008)
Kazakhstan
general assessment: inherited an outdated
telecommunications network from the Soviet era requiring
modernization
domestic: intercity by landline and microwave radio relay; number of
fixed-line connections is gradually increasing and fixed-line
teledensity now exceeds 20 per 100 persons; mobile-cellular usage is
increasing rapidly and the subscriber base now is roughly 100 per
100 persons
international: country code - 7; international traffic with other
former Soviet republics and China carried by landline and microwave
radio relay and with other countries by satellite and by the
Trans-Asia-Europe (TAE) fiber-optic cable; satellite earth stations
- 2 Intelsat (2008)
Kenya
general assessment: inadequate; fixed-line telephone system is
small and inefficient; trunks are primarily microwave radio relay;
business data commonly transferred by a very small aperture terminal
(VSAT) system
domestic: no recent growth in fixed-line infrastructure and the sole
provider, Telkom Kenya, is slated for privatization; multiple
providers in the mobile-cellular segment of the market fostering a
boom in mobile-cellular telephone usage
international: country code - 254; satellite earth stations - 4
Intelsat
Kiribati
general assessment: generally good quality national and
international service
domestic: wire line service available on Tarawa and Kiritimati
(Christmas Island); connections to outer islands by HF/VHF
radiotelephone; wireless service available in Tarawa since 1999
international: country code - 686; Kiribati is being linked to the
Pacific Ocean Cooperative Telecommunications Network, which should
improve telephone service; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat
(Pacific Ocean)
Korea, North
general assessment: inadequate system; currently mobile
cellular telephone services are available in Pyongyang only
domestic: fiber-optic links installed between cities; telephone
directories unavailable; mobile cellular service, initiated in 2002,
suspended in 2004; Orascom Telecom, an Egyptian company, launched
mobile service on December 15, 2008 for the Pyongyang area only
international: country code - 850; satellite earth stations - 2 (1
Intelsat - Indian Ocean, 1 Russian - Indian Ocean region); other
international connections through Moscow and Beijing (2008)
Korea, South
general assessment: excellent domestic and
international services featuring rapid incorporation of new
technologies
domestic: fixed-line and mobile-cellular services wide available
with a combined telephone subscribership of roughly 140 per 100
persons; rapid assimilation of a full range of telecommunications
technologies leading to a boom in e-commerce
international: country code - 82; numerous submarine cables provide
links throughout Asia, Australia, the Middle East, Europe, and US;
satellite earth stations - 66
Kuwait
general assessment: the quality of service is excellent
domestic: new telephone exchanges provide a large capacity for new
subscribers; trunk traffic is carried by microwave radio relay,
coaxial cable, and open-wire and fiber-optic cable; a cellular
telephone system operates throughout Kuwait, and the country is well
supplied with pay telephones
international: country code - 965; linked to international submarine
cable Fiber-Optic Link Around the Globe (FLAG); linked to Bahrain,
Qatar, UAE via the Fiber-Optic Gulf (FOG) cable; coaxial cable and
microwave radio relay to Saudi Arabia; satellite earth stations - 6
(3 Intelsat - 1 Atlantic Ocean and 2 Indian Ocean, 1 Inmarsat -
Atlantic Ocean, and 2 Arabsat)
Kyrgyzstan
general assessment: telecommunications infrastructure is
being upgraded; loans from the European Bank for Reconstruction and
Development (EBRD) are being used to install a digital network,
digital radio-relay stations, and fiber-optic links
domestic: fixed line penetration remains low and concentrated in
urban areas; multiple mobile cellular service providers with growing
coverage; mobile cellular subscribership exceeded 60 per 100 persons
in 2008
international: country code - 996; connections with other CIS
countries by landline or microwave radio relay and with other
countries by leased connections with Moscow international gateway
switch and by satellite; satellite earth stations - 2 (1
Intersputnik, 1 Intelsat); connected internationally by the
Trans-Asia-Europe (TAE) fiber-optic line (2008)
Laos
general assessment: service to general public is poor but
improving; the government relies on a radiotelephone network to
communicate with remote areas
domestic: multiple service providers; mobile cellular usage growing
rapidly; combined fixed-line and mobile-cellular subscribership
approaching 30 per 100 persons
international: country code - 856; satellite earth station - 1
Intersputnik (Indian Ocean region) (2008)
Latvia
general assessment: recent efforts focused on bringing
competition to the telecommunications sector; the number of fixed
lines is decreasing as wireless telephone service expands
domestic: number of telecommunications operators has grown rapidly
since the fixed-line market opened to competition in 2003; combined
fixed-line and mobile-cellular subscribership exceeds 125 per 100
persons
international: country code - 371; the Latvian network is now
connected via fiber optic cable to Estonia, Finland, and Sweden
(2008)