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general assessment: inherited an outdated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 roughly 25 per 100 persons; mobile-cellular usage is
increasing 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: sole fixed-line 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 with
teledensity reaching 50 per 100 persons in 2009
international: country code - 254; The East Africa Marine System
(TEAMS) and the SEACOM undersea fiber-optic cable systems; 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: adequate system; nationwide
fiber-optic network; mobile-cellular service expanding beyond
Pyongyang
domestic: fiber-optic links installed down to the county level;
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 with plans to expand nationwide
international: country code - 850; satellite earth stations - 2 (1
Intelsat - Indian Ocean, 1 Russian - Indian Ocean region); other
international connections through Moscow and Beijing (2009)
Korea, South
general assessment: excellent domestic and
international services featuring rapid incorporation of new
technologies
domestic: fixed-line and mobile-cellular services widely 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
mobile-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 80 per 100 persons
in 2009
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
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
very rapidly
international: country code - 856; satellite earth station - 1
Intersputnik (Indian Ocean region) and a second to be developed by
China (2008)
Latvia
general assessment: recent efforts focused on bringing
competition to the telecommunications sector; the number of fixed
lines is decreasing as mobile-cellular 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)
Lebanon
general assessment: repair of the telecommunications system,
severely damaged during the civil war, now complete
domestic: two mobile-cellular networks provide good service;
combined fixed-line and mobile-cellular subscribership exceeds 55
per 100 persons
international: country code - 961; submarine cable links to Cyprus,
Egypt, and Syria; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Indian
Ocean and 1 Atlantic Ocean); coaxial cable to Syria (2009)