Dominica
general assessment: fully automatic network
domestic: Fixed-line teledensity is roughly 25 per 100 persons;
mobile-cellular teledensity approached 150 per 100 persons in 2009
international: country code - 1-767; landing points for the East
Caribbean Fiber Optic System (ECFS) and the Global Caribbean Network
(GCN) submarine cables providing connectivity to other islands in
the eastern Caribbean extending from the British Virgin Islands to
Trinidad; microwave radio relay and SHF radiotelephone links to
Martinique and Guadeloupe; VHF and UHF radiotelephone links to Saint
Lucia
Dominican Republic
general assessment: relatively efficient system
based on island-wide microwave radio relay network
domestic: fixed-line teledensity is about 10 per 100 persons;
multiple providers of mobile-cellular service with a subscribership
of roughly 75 per 100 persons
international: country code - 1-809; landing point for the Americas
Region Caribbean Ring System (ARCOS-1), Antillas 1, and the
Fibralink submarine cables that provide links to South and Central
America, parts of the Caribbean, and US; satellite earth station - 1
Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (2009)
Ecuador
general assessment: generally elementary but being expanded
domestic: fixed-line services provided by multiple
telecommunications operators; fixed-line teledensity stands at about
14 per 100 persons; mobile-cellular use has surged and
subscribership reached about 95 per 100 persons in 2009
international: country code - 593; landing points for the PAN-AM and
South America-1 submarine cables that provide links to the west
coast of South America, Panama, Colombia, Venezuela, and extending
onward to Aruba and the US Virgin Islands in the Caribbean;
satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) (2009)
Egypt
general assessment: underwent extensive upgrading during
1990s; principal centers at Alexandria, Cairo, Al Mansurah,
Ismailia, Suez, and Tanta are connected by coaxial cable and
microwave radio relay
domestic: largest fixed-line system in the region; as of 2010 there
were three mobile-cellular networks with a total of more than 55
million subscribers
international: country code - 20; landing point for Aletar, the
SEA-ME-WE-3 and SEA-ME-WE-4 submarine cable networks, Link Around
the Globe (FLAG) Falcon and FLAG FEA; satellite earth stations - 4
(2 Intelsat - Atlantic Ocean and Indian Ocean, 1 Arabsat, and 1
Inmarsat); tropospheric scatter to Sudan; microwave radio relay to
Israel; a participant in Medarabtel (2009)
El Salvador
general assessment: multiple mobile-cellular providers
are expanding services rapidly and in 2009 teledensity exceeded 100
per 100 persons; growth in fixed-line services has slowed in the
face of mobile-cellular competition
domestic: nationwide microwave radio relay system
international: country code - 503; satellite earth station - 1
Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); connected to Central American Microwave
System (2009)
Equatorial Guinea
general assessment: digital fixed-line network in
most major urban areas and good mobile coverage
domestic: fixed-line density is about 2 per 100 persons;
mobile-cellular subscribership has been increasing and in 2009 stood
at about 70 percent of the population
international: country code - 240; international communications from
Bata and Malabo to African and European countries; satellite earth
station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) (2009)
Eritrea
general assessment: inadequate; most telephones are in
Asmara; government is seeking international tenders to improve the
system (2002)
domestic: combined fixed-line and mobile-cellular subscribership is
only about 3 per 100 persons (2009)
international: country code - 291; note - international connections
exist
Estonia
general assessment: foreign investment in the form of joint
business ventures greatly improved telephone service with a wide
range of high quality voice, data, and Internet services available
domestic: substantial fiber-optic cable systems carry telephone, TV,
and radio traffic in the digital mode; Internet services are widely
available; schools and libraries are connected to the Internet, a
large percentage of the population files income-tax returns online,
and online voting was used for the first time in the 2005 local
elections
international: country code - 372; fiber-optic cables to Finland,
Sweden, Latvia, and Russia provide worldwide packet-switched
service; 2 international switches are located in Tallinn (2008)
Ethiopia
general assessment: inadequate telephone system with the
Ethiopian Telecommunications Corporation (ETC) maintaining a
monopoly over telecommunication services; open-wire, microwave radio
relay; radio communication in the HF, VHF, and UHF frequencies; 2
domestic satellites provide the national trunk service
domestic: the number of fixed lines and mobile telephones is
increasing from a small base; combined fixed and mobile-cellular
teledensity is only about 5 per 100 persons
international: country code - 251; open-wire to Sudan and Djibouti;
microwave radio relay to Kenya and Djibouti; satellite earth
stations - 3 Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean and 2 Pacific Ocean) (2009)
European Union
note - see individual country entries of member states