| Countries (A to Z) |
Description |
| Afghanistan |
telephone service is improving with the licensing of several wireless telephone service providers in 2005 and 2006; approximately 4 in 100 Afghans own a wireless telephone; telephone main lines remain limited |
| Albania |
offsetting the shortage of fixed line capacity, mobile phone service has been available since 1996; by 2003 two companies were providing mobile services at a greater density than some of Albania's Balkan neighbors |
| Algeria |
good service in north but sparse in south; domestic satellite system with 12 earth stations (20 additional domestic earth stations are planned) |
| Angola |
limited system of wire, microwave radio relay, and tropospheric scatter |
| Antarctica |
commercial cellular networks operating in a small number of locations |
| Argentina |
microwave radio relay, fiber-optic cable, and a domestic satellite system with 40 earth stations serve the trunk network; more than 110,000 pay telephones are installed and mobile telephone use is rapidly expanding |
| Armenia |
the majority of subscribers and the most modern equipment are in Yerevan (this includes paging and mobile cellular service) |
| Aruba |
increased competition through privatization; 3 wireless service providers are now licensed |
| Australia |
domestic satellite system; much use of radiotelephone in areas of low population density; rapid growth of mobile cellular telephones |
| Austria |
there are 45 main lines for every 100 persons; the fiber optic net is very extensive; all telephone applications and Internet services are available |
| Azerbaijan |
the majority of telephones are in Baku and other industrial centers - about 700 villages still without public telephone service; satellite service connects Baku to a modern switch in its exclave of Naxcivan |
| Bahamas, The |
totally automatic system; highly developed |
| Bahrain |
modern fiber-optic integrated services; digital network with rapidly growing use of mobile cellular telephones |
| Bangladesh |
modernizing; introducing digital systems; trunk systems include VHF and UHF microwave radio relay links, and some fiber-optic cable in cities |
| Belarus |
fixed line penetration is improving although rural areas continue to be underserved; 4 GSM wireless networks are experiencing rapid growth; strict government controls on telecommunications technologies |
| Belgium |
nationwide cellular telephone system; extensive cable network; limited microwave radio relay network |
| Belize |
trunk network depends primarily on microwave radio relay |
| Bermuda |
fully automatic digital telephone system; fiber optic trunk lines |
| Bhutan |
very low teledensity; domestic service is very poor especially in rural areas; wireless service available since 2003 |
| Bolivia |
primary trunk system, which is being expanded, employs digital microwave radio relay; some areas are served by fiber-optic cable; mobile cellular systems are being expanded |
| Botswana |
small system of open-wire lines, microwave radio relay links, and a few radiotelephone communication stations; mobile cellular service is growing fast |
| Brazil |
extensive microwave radio relay system and a domestic satellite system with 64 earth stations |
| British Indian Ocean Territory |
all commercial telephone services are available, including connection to the Internet |
| Brunei |
every service available |
| Bulgaria |
more than two-thirds of the lines are residential; telephone service is available in most villages; a fairly modern digital cable trunk line now connects switching centers in most of the regions, the others are connected by digital microwave radio relay |
| Burkina Faso |
microwave radio relay, open-wire, and radiotelephone communication stations |
| Burundi |
sparse system of open-wire, radiotelephone communications, and low-capacity microwave radio relay |
| Cameroon |
cable, microwave radio relay, and tropospheric scatter |
| Canada |
domestic satellite system with about 300 earth stations |
| Cape Verde |
major service provider is Cabo Verde Telecom (CVT); fiber optic ring, completed in 2001, links all islands providing Internet access and ISDN services; cellular service introduced in 1998 |
| Cayman Islands |
liberalization of telecom market in 2003 reflected in falling prices and improving services |
| Central African Republic |
network consists principally of microwave radio relay and low-capacity, low-powered radiotelephone communication |
| Chad |
fair system of radiotelephone communication stations |
| Chile |
extensive microwave radio relay links; domestic satellite system with 3 earth stations |
| China |
interprovincial fiber-optic trunk lines and cellular telephone systems have been installed; mobile cellular subscribership is increasing rapidly; a domestic satellite system with 55 earth stations is in place |
| Christmas Island |
GSM mobile telephone service replaced older analog system in February 2005 |
| Colombia |
nationwide microwave radio relay system; domestic satellite system with 41 earth stations; fiber-optic network linking 50 cities |
| Comoros |
HF radiotelephone communications and microwave radio relay |
| Congo, Democratic Republic of the |
barely adequate wire and microwave radio relay service in and between urban areas; domestic satellite system with 14 earth stations |
| Congo, Republic of the |
primary network consists of microwave radio relay and coaxial cable |
| Cook Islands |
the 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 |
| Costa Rica |
point-to-point and point-to-multi-point microwave, fiber-optic, and coaxial cable link rural areas; Internet service is available |
| Cuba |
national fiber-optic system under development; 85% of switches digitized by end of 2004; telephone line density remains low, at less than 10 per 100 inhabitants; domestic cellular service expanding |
| Cyprus |
open-wire, fiber-optic cable, and microwave radio relay |
| Czech Republic |
86% of exchanges now digital; existing copper subscriber systems now being 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 |
| Côte d'Ivoire |
open-wire lines and microwave radio relay; 90% digitalized |
| Denmark |
buried and submarine cables and microwave radio relay form trunk network, 4 cellular mobile communications systems |
| Djibouti |
microwave radio relay network |
| Ecuador |
facilities generally inadequate and unreliable |
| Egypt |
principal centers at Alexandria, Cairo, Al Mansurah, Ismailia, Suez, and Tanta are connected by coaxial cable and microwave radio relay |
| Eritrea |
inadequate; most telephones are in Asmara; government is seeking international tenders to improve the system (2002) |
| Estonia |
a wide range of high quality voice, data, and Internet services is available throughout the country |
| Ethiopia |
open-wire; microwave radio relay; radio communication in the HF, VHF, and UHF frequencies; 2 domestic satellites provide the national trunk service |
| Faroe Islands |
digitalization was completed in 1998; both NMT (analog) and GSM (digital) mobile telephone systems are installed |
| Finland |
digital fiber-optic fixed-line network and an extensive cellular network provide domestic needs |
| France |
extensive cable and microwave radio relay; extensive introduction of fiber-optic cable; domestic satellite system |
| Gabon |
adequate system of cable, microwave radio relay, tropospheric scatter, radiotelephone communication stations, and a domestic satellite system with 12 earth stations |
| Gambia, The |
adequate network of microwave radio relay and open-wire |
| Germany |
Germany is served by an extensive system of automatic telephone exchanges connected by modern networks of fiber-optic cable, coaxial cable, microwave radio relay, and a domestic satellite system; cellular telephone service is widely available, expanding rapidly, and includes roaming service to many foreign countries |
| Ghana |
primarily microwave radio relay; wireless local loop has been installed |
| Gibraltar |
automatic exchange facilities |
| Greece |
microwave radio relay trunk system; extensive open-wire connections; submarine cable to offshore islands |
| Greenland |
microwave radio relay and satellite |
| Grenada |
interisland VHF and UHF radiotelephone links |
| Guam |
modern digital system, including cellular mobile service and local access to the Internet |
| Guinea |
microwave radio relay and radiotelephone communication |
| Guinea-Bissau |
combination of microwave radio relay, open-wire lines, radiotelephone, and cellular communications |
| Guyana |
microwave radio relay network for trunk lines |
| Haiti |
coaxial cable and microwave radio relay trunk service |
| Holy See (Vatican City) |
connected via fiber optic cable to Telecom Italia network |
| Hong Kong |
microwave radio relay links and extensive fiber-optic network |
| Hungary |
the system is digitalized and highly automated; trunk services are carried by fiber-optic cable and digital microwave radio relay; a program for fiber-optic subscriber connections was initiated in 1996; heavy use is made of mobile cellular telephones |
| Iceland |
the trunk network consists of coaxial and fiber-optic cables and microwave radio relay links |
| India |
expansion of domestic service, although still weak in rural areas, resulted from increased competition and dramatic reductions in price led in large part by wireless service; mobile cellular service (both CDMA and GSM) introduced in 1994 and organized nationwide into four metropolitan cities and 19 telecom circles each with about three private service providers and one state-owned service provider; in recent years significant trunk capacity added in the form of fiber-optic cable and one of the world's largest domestic satellite systems, the Indian National Satellite system (INSAT), with 6 satellites supporting 33,000 very small aperture terminals (VSAT) |
| Indonesia |
interisland microwave system and HF radio police net; domestic satellite communications system |
| Iran |
the addition of new fiber cables and modern switching and exchange systems installed by Iran's state-owned telecom company have improved and expanded the main line network greatly; main line availability has more than doubled to 19 million lines since 1995; additionally, mobile service has increased dramatically serving some 8.5 million subscribers in 2005 |
| Iraq |
repairs to switches and lines destroyed during 2003 have been completed, but sabotage remains a problem; additional switching capacity is improving access; cellular service is widely available in major cities and centered on 3 regional GSM networks, improving country-wide connectivity; there are currently 8.7 million users of cellular services |
| Ireland |
microwave radio relay |
| Israel |
good system of coaxial cable and microwave radio relay; all systems are digital |
| Italy |
high-capacity cable and microwave radio relay trunks |
| Japan |
high level of modern technology and excellent service of every kind |
| Jordan |
microwave radio relay transmission and coaxial and fiber-optic cable are employed on trunk lines; considerable use of mobile cellular systems; Internet service is available |
| Kazakhstan |
intercity by landline and microwave radio relay; mobile cellular systems are available in most of Kazakhstan |
| Kenya |
trunks are primarily microwave radio relay; business data commonly transferred by a very small aperture terminal (VSAT) system |
| Kiribati |
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 |
| Kuwait |
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 |
| Kyrgyzstan |
4 mobile cellular service providers with growing coverage |
| Laos |
radiotelephone communications |
| Latvia |
3 wireless service providers including Lattelekom, the incumbent monopoly |
| Lebanon |
2 commercial wireless networks provide good service; political instability hampers privatization and deployment of new technologies |
| Lesotho |
consists of a modest but growing number of landlines, a small microwave radio relay system, and a minor radiotelephone communication system; a cellular mobile telephone system is growing |
| Liberia |
fully automatic system with very low density of less than 1 fixed main line per 100 persons; limited wireless service available |
| Libya |
microwave radio relay, coaxial cable, cellular, tropospheric scatter, and a domestic satellite system with 14 earth stations |
| Lithuania |
a national, fiber-optic cable, interurban, trunk system is nearing completion; rural exchanges are being improved and expanded; mobile cellular systems are being installed; access to the Internet is available; still many unsatisfied telephone subscriber applications |
| Luxembourg |
nationwide cellular telephone system; buried cable |
| Madagascar |
open-wire lines, coaxial cables, microwave radio relay, and tropospheric scatter links connect regions |
| Malaysia |
good intercity service provided on Peninsular Malaysia mainly by microwave radio relay; adequate intercity microwave radio relay network between Sabah and Sarawak via Brunei; domestic satellite system with 2 earth stations |
| Maldives |
interatoll communication through microwave links; all inhabited islands and resorts are connected with telephone and fax service |
| Mali |
network consists of microwave radio relay, open-wire, and radiotelephone communications stations; expansion of microwave radio relay in progress |
| Malta |
submarine cable and microwave radio relay between islands |
| Marshall Islands |
Majuro Atoll and Ebeye and Kwajalein islands have regular, seven-digit, direct-dial telephones; other islands interconnected by high frequency radiotelephone (used mostly for government purposes) and mini-satellite telephones |
| Mauritania |
mostly cable and open-wire lines; a recently completed domestic satellite telecommunications system links Nouakchott with regional capitals |
| Mauritius |
primarily microwave radio relay trunk system |
| Mexico |
adequate telephone service for business and government, but the population is poorly served; mobile subscribers far outnumber fixed-line subscribers; domestic satellite system with 120 earth stations; extensive microwave radio relay network; considerable use of fiber-optic cable and coaxial cable |
| Micronesia, Federated States of |
islands interconnected by shortwave radiotelephone (used mostly for government purposes), satellite (Intelsat) ground stations, and some coaxial and fiber-optic cable; cellular service available on Kosrae, Pohnpei, and Yap |
| Moldova |
depending on location, new subscribers may face long wait for service; 2 private operators of GSM mobile cellular telephone service are operating; GPRS system is being introduced; license for 1 CDMA mobile telephone network currently being tendered |
| Mongolia |
very low density of about 6 main lines per 100 persons (roughly 25 per 100 persons including cellular mobile phones); there are 3 wireless providers |
| Morocco |
good system composed of open-wire lines, cables, and microwave radio relay links; Internet available but expensive; principal switching centers are Casablanca and Rabat; national network nearly 100% digital using fiber-optic links; improved rural service employs microwave radio relay |
| Mozambique |
the system consists of open-wire lines and trunk connection by microwave radio relay and tropospheric scatter |
| Namibia |
good urban services; fair rural service; microwave radio relay links major towns; connections to other populated places are by open wire; 100% digital |
| Netherlands |
extensive fixed-line fiber-optic network; cellular telephone system is one of the largest in Europe with 5 major network operators utilizing the third generation of the Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) |
| Netherlands Antilles |
extensive interisland microwave radio relay links |
| Nicaragua |
low-capacity microwave radio relay and wire system being expanded; connected to Central American Microwave System |
| Niger |
wire, radiotelephone communications, and microwave radio relay; domestic satellite system with 3 earth stations and 1 planned |
| Nigeria |
the addition of a second fixed-line provider in 2002 resulted in faster growth of this service; wireless telephony has grown rapidly, in part responding to the shortcomings of the fixed-line network; 4 wireless (GSM) service providers operate nationally; the combined growth resulted in a sharp increase in teledensity reported to be over 18% in March 2006 |
| Niue |
single-line telephone system connects all villages on island |
| Norfolk Island |
free local calls |
| Norway |
Norway has a domestic satellite system; moreover, the prevalence of rural areas encourages the wide use of cellular mobile systems instead of fixed-wire systems |
| Oman |
open-wire, microwave, radiotelephone communications, and a domestic satellite system with 8 earth stations |
| Pakistan |
microwave radio relay, coaxial cable, fiber-optic cable, cellular, and satellite networks |
| Papua New Guinea |
mostly radiotelephone |
| Paraguay |
fair microwave radio relay network |
| Peru |
nationwide microwave radio relay system and a domestic satellite system with 12 earth stations |
| Philippines |
domestic satellite system with 11 earth stations; cellular communications now dominate the industry with roughly 10 mobile cellular subscribers for every fixed-line subscriber |
| Pitcairn Islands |
domestic communication via radio (CB) |
| Poland |
wireless service, available since 1993 (GSM service available since 1996) and provided by three nation-wide networks, has grown rapidly in response to the weak fixed-line coverage; third generation UMTS service available in urban areas; cellular coverage is generally good with more gaps in the east; fixed-line service is growing slowly and still lags in rural areas |
| Portugal |
integrated network of coaxial cables, open-wire, microwave radio relay, and domestic satellite earth stations |
| Puerto Rico |
digital telephone system; cellular telephone service |
| Romania |
90% of telephone network is automatic; liberalization in 2003 is transforming telecommunications; there has been 20% growth in fixed lines with a penetration rate of 58% of households; nation-wide wireless service is growing even faster with 4 major providers and a penetration rate of 32% |
| Russia |
cross-country digital trunk lines run from Saint Petersburg to Khabarovsk, and from Moscow to Novorossiysk; the telephone systems in 60 regional capitals have modern digital infrastructures; cellular services, both analog and digital, are available in many areas; in rural areas, the telephone services are still outdated, inadequate, and low density |
| Rwanda |
the capital, Kigali, is connected to the centers of the provinces by microwave radio relay and, recently, by cellular telephone service; much of the network depends on wire and HF radiotelephone |
| Saint Helena |
automatic digital network |
| Saint Kitts and Nevis |
inter-island links via Eastern Caribbean Fiber Optic cable; construction of enhanced wireless infrastructure launched in November 2004 |
| Saint Lucia |
system is automatically switched |
| Saint Vincent and the Grenadines |
islandwide, fully automatic telephone system; VHF/UHF radiotelephone from Saint Vincent to the other islands of the Grenadines |
| San Marino |
automatic telephone system completely integrated into Italian system |
| Saudi Arabia |
extensive microwave radio relay, coaxial cable, and fiber-optic cable systems |
| Senegal |
above-average urban system; microwave radio relay, coaxial cable and fiber-optic cable in trunk system |
| Serbia and Montenegro |
teledensity remains below the average for neighboring states; GSM wireless service, available through 2 providers with national coverage, is growing very rapidly; best telecommunications service limited to urban centers |
| Seychelles |
radiotelephone communications between islands in the archipelago |
| Sierra Leone |
the national microwave radio relay trunk system connects Freetown to Bo and Kenema |
| Singapore |
excellent domestic facilities; launched 3G wireless service in February 2005 |
| Slovakia |
analog system is now receiving digital equipment and is being enlarged with fiber-optic cable, especially in the larger cities; 3 companies provide nationwide cellular services |
| Somalia |
local cellular telephone systems have been established in Mogadishu and in several other population centers |
| South Africa |
consists of carrier-equipped open-wire lines, coaxial cables, microwave radio relay links, fiber-optic cable, radiotelephone communication stations, and wireless local loops; key centers are Bloemfontein, Cape Town, Durban, Johannesburg, Port Elizabeth, and Pretoria |
| Sri Lanka |
national trunk network consists mostly of digital microwave radio relay; fiber-optic links now in use in Colombo area and 2 fixed wireless local loops have been installed; competition is strong in mobile cellular systems and mobile cellular subscribership is increasing; telephone density remains low (2006) |
| Sudan |
consists of microwave radio relay, cable, radiotelephone communications, tropospheric scatter, and a domestic satellite system with 14 earth stations |
| Suriname |
microwave radio relay network |
| Svalbard |
local telephone service |
| Swaziland |
system consists of carrier-equipped, open-wire lines and low-capacity, microwave radio relay |
| Sweden |
coaxial and multiconductor cables carry most of the voice traffic; parallel microwave radio relay systems carry some additional telephone channels |
| Switzerland |
extensive cable and microwave radio relay networks |
| Syria |
coaxial cable and microwave radio relay network |
| São Tomé and Príncipe |
minimal system |
| Taiwan |
thoroughly modern; completely digitalized |
| Tajikistan |
the domestic telecommunications network has historically been under funded and poorly maintained; main line availability has not changed significantly since 1998; cellular telephony is rare and coverage remains limited |
| Tanzania |
trunk service provided by open-wire, microwave radio relay, tropospheric scatter, and fiber-optic cable; some links being made digital |
| Thailand |
fixed line system provided by both a government owned and commercial provider; wireless service expanding rapidly and outpacing fixed lines |
| Togo |
microwave radio relay and open-wire lines for conventional system |
| Tokelau |
radiotelephone service between islands |
| Tonga |
fully automatic switched network |
| Tunisia |
trunk facilities consist of open-wire lines, coaxial cable, and microwave radio relay |
| Turkey |
additional digital exchanges are permitting a rapid increase in subscribers; the construction of a network of technologically advanced intercity trunk lines, using both fiber-optic cable and digital microwave radio relay, is facilitating communication between urban centers; remote areas are reached by a domestic satellite system; the number of subscribers to mobile cellular telephone service is growing rapidly |
| Turkmenistan |
Turkmenistan's telecommunications network remains woefully underdeveloped; Turkmentelekom, in cooperation with foreign investors, is planning to upgrade the country's telephone exchanges and install a new digital switching system |
| Turks and Caicos Islands |
full range of services available; GSM wireless service available |
| Tuvalu |
radiotelephone communications between islands |
| Uganda |
intercity traffic by wire, microwave radio relay, and radiotelephone communication stations, fixed and mobile cellular systems for short-range traffic |
| Ukraine |
at independence in December 1991, Ukraine inherited a telephone system that was antiquated, inefficient, and in disrepair; more than 3.5 million applications for telephones could not be satisfied; telephone density is rising slowly and the domestic trunk system is being improved; the mobile cellular telephone system is expanding at a high rate |
| United Arab Emirates |
microwave radio relay, fiber optic and coaxial cable |
| United Kingdom |
equal mix of buried cables, microwave radio relay, and fiber-optic systems |
| United States |
a large system of fiber-optic cable, microwave radio relay, coaxial cable, and domestic satellites carries every form of telephone traffic; a rapidly growing cellular system carries mobile telephone traffic throughout the country |
| Uruguay |
most modern facilities concentrated in Montevideo; new nationwide microwave radio relay network |
| Uzbekistan |
the main line telecommunications system is dilapidated; the state-owned telecom company, Uzbektelecom, is using a US$110 million loan from the Japanese government to improve main line services; mobile services are growing swiftly, with the subscriber base doubling in 2005 to 1.1 million; there are 6 main cellular providers currently in operation |
| Venezuela |
domestic satellite system with 3 earth stations; recent substantial improvement in telephone service in rural areas; substantial increase in digitalization of exchanges and trunk lines; installation of a national interurban fiber-optic network capable of digital multimedia services |
| Vietnam |
all provincial exchanges are digitalized and connected to Hanoi, Da Nang, and Ho Chi Minh City by fiber-optic cable or microwave radio relay networks; main lines have been substantially increased, and the use of mobile telephones is growing rapidly |
| Virgin Islands |
full range of services available |
| Yemen |
the national network consists of microwave radio relay, cable, tropospheric scatter, and GSM cellular mobile telephone systems |
| Zambia |
high-capacity microwave radio relay connects most larger towns and cities; several cellular telephone services in operation; Internet service is widely available; very small aperture terminal (VSAT) networks are operated by private firms |
| Zimbabwe |
consists of microwave radio relay links, open-wire lines, radiotelephone communication stations, fixed wireless local loop installations, and a substantial mobile cellular network; Internet connection is available in Harare and planned for all major towns and for some of the smaller ones |
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