Congo, Republic of the
general assessment: primary network consists
of microwave radio relay and coaxial cable with services barely
adequate for government use; key exchanges are in Brazzaville,
Pointe-Noire, and Loubomo; intercity lines frequently out of order
domestic: fixed-line infrastructure inadequate providing less than 1
connection per 100 persons; in the absence of an adequate fixed line
infrastructure, mobile-cellular subscribership has surged and now
exceeds 50 per 100 persons
international: country code - 242; satellite earth station - 1
Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (2009)
Cook Islands
general assessment: Telecom Cook Islands offers
international direct dialing, Internet, email, fax, and Telex
domestic: individual islands are connected by a combination of
satellite earth stations, microwave systems, and VHF and HF
radiotelephone; within the islands, service is provided by small
exchanges connected to subscribers by open-wire, cable, and
fiber-optic cable
international: country code - 682; satellite earth station - 1
Intelsat (Pacific Ocean)
Costa Rica
general assessment: good domestic telephone service in
terms of breadth of coverage; under the terms of CAFTA-DR, the
state-run telecommunications monopoly scheduled to be opened to
competition from domestic and international firms, has been delayed
by the nation's telecommunications regulator.
domestic: point-to-point and point-to-multi-point microwave,
fiber-optic, and coaxial cable link rural areas; Internet service is
available
international: country code - 506; landing points for the Americas
Region Caribbean Ring System (ARCOS-1), MAYA-1, and the Pan American
Crossing submarine cables that provide links to South and Central
America, parts of the Caribbean, and the US; connected to Central
American Microwave System; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat
(Atlantic Ocean) (2009)
Cote d'Ivoire
general assessment: well developed by African
standards; telecommunications sector privatized in late 1990s and
operational fixed-lines have increased since that time with two
fixed-line providers operating over open-wire lines, microwave radio
relay, and fiber-optics; 90% digitalized
domestic: with multiple mobile-cellular service providers competing
in the market, usage has increased sharply to roughly 65 per 100
persons
international: country code - 225; landing point for the SAT-3/WASC
fiber-optic submarine cable that provides connectivity to Europe and
Asia; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean and 1
Indian Ocean) (2009)
Croatia
general assessment: the telecommunications network has
improved steadily since the mid-1990s; local lines are digital
domestic: fixed-line teledensity holding steady at about 40 per 100
persons; mobile-cellular telephone subscriptions exceed the
population
international: country code - 385; digital international service is
provided through the main switch in Zagreb; Croatia participates in
the Trans-Asia-Europe (TEL) fiber-optic project, which consists of 2
fiber-optic trunk connections with Slovenia and a fiber-optic trunk
line from Rijeka to Split and Dubrovnik; the ADRIA-1 submarine cable
provides connectivity to Albania and Greece (2009)
Cuba
general assessment: greater investment beginning in 1994 and
the establishment of a new Ministry of Information Technology and
Communications in 2000 has resulted in improvements in the system;
national fiber-optic system under development; 95% of switches
digitized by end of 2006; mobile-cellular telephone service is
expensive and must be paid in convertible pesos, which effectively
limits subscribership
domestic: fixed-line density remains low at less than 10 per 100
inhabitants; mobile-cellular service expanding but remains less than
5 per 100 persons
international: country code - 53; fiber-optic cable laid to but not
linked to US network; satellite earth station - 1 Intersputnik
(Atlantic Ocean region) (2009)
Cyprus
general assessment: excellent in both area under government
control and area administered by Turkish Cypriots
domestic: open-wire, fiber-optic cable, and microwave radio relay
international: country code - 357 (area administered by Turkish
Cypriots uses the country code of Turkey - 90); a number of
submarine cables, including the SEA-ME-WE-3, combine to provide
connectivity to Western Europe, the Middle East, and Asia;
tropospheric scatter; satellite earth stations - 8 (3 Intelsat - 1
Atlantic Ocean and 2 Indian Ocean, 2 Eutelsat, 2 Intersputnik, and 1
Arabsat)
Czech Republic
general assessment: privatization and modernization
of the Czech telecommunication system got a late start but is
advancing steadily; virtually all exchanges now digital; existing
copper subscriber systems enhanced with Asymmetric Digital
Subscriber Line (ADSL) equipment to accommodate Internet and other
digital signals; trunk systems include fiber-optic cable and
microwave radio relay
domestic: access to the fixed-line telephone network expanded
throughout the 1990s but the number of fixed line connections has
been dropping since then; mobile telephone usage increased sharply
beginning in the mid-1990s and the number of cellular telephone
subscriptions now greatly exceeds the population
international: country code - 420; satellite earth stations - 6 (2
Intersputnik - Atlantic and Indian Ocean regions, 1 Intelsat, 1
Eutelsat, 1 Inmarsat, 1 Globalstar) (2009)
Denmark
general assessment: excellent telephone and telegraph
services
domestic: buried and submarine cables and microwave radio relay form
trunk network, multiple cellular mobile communications systems
international: country code - 45; a series of fiber-optic submarine
cables link Denmark with Canada, Faroe Islands, Germany, Iceland,
Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Russia, Sweden, and UK; satellite earth
stations - 18 (6 Intelsat, 10 Eutelsat, 1 Orion, 1 Inmarsat
(Blaavand-Atlantic-East)); note - the Nordic countries (Denmark,
Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden) share the Danish earth station
and the Eik, Norway, station for worldwide Inmarsat access (2008)
Djibouti
general assessment: telephone facilities in the city of
Djibouti are adequate, as are the microwave radio relay connections
to outlying areas of the country
domestic: Djibouti Telecom is the sole provider of
telecommunications services and utilizes mostly a microwave radio
relay network; fiber-optic cable is installed in the capital; rural
areas connected via wireless local loop radio systems; mobile
cellular coverage is primarily limited to the area in and around
Djibouti city
international: country code - 253; landing point for the SEA-ME-WE-3
optical telecommunications submarine cable with links to Asia, the
Middle East, and Europe; satellite earth stations - 2 (1 Intelsat -
Indian Ocean and 1 Arabsat); Medarabtel regional microwave radio
relay telephone network (2009)