; satellite earth
station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean)

Sierra Leone:
general assessment: marginal telephone and telegraph
service

domestic: national microwave radio relay trunk system, made
unserviceable by military activities, is now operating from Freetown
to Bo and Kenema (April 2001)

international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)

Singapore:
general assessment: major consideration given to serving
business interests; excellent international service

domestic: excellent domestic facilities

international: submarine cables to Malaysia (Sabah and Peninsular
Malaysia), Indonesia, and the Philippines; satellite earth stations
- 2 Intelsat (1 Indian Ocean and 1 Pacific Ocean), and 1 Inmarsat
(Pacific Ocean region)

Slovakia:
general assessment: a modernization and privatization
program is increasing accessibility to telephone service, reducing
the waiting time for new subscribers, and generally improving
service quality

domestic: predominantly an analog system that is now receiving
digital equipment and is being enlarged with fiber-optic cable,
especially in the larger cities; mobile cellular capability has been
added

international: three international exchanges (one in Bratislava and
two in Banska Bystrica) are available; Slovakia is participating in
several international telecommunications projects that will increase
the availability of external services

Slovenia:
general assessment: NA

domestic: 100% digital (2000)

international: NA

Solomon Islands:
general assessment: NA

domestic: NA

international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean)

Somalia:
general assessment: the public telecommunications system
was completely destroyed or dismantled by the civil war factions;
all relief organizations depend on their own private systems

domestic: recently, local cellular telephone systems have been
established in Mogadishu and in several other population centers

international: international connections are available from
Mogadishu by satellite

South Africa:
general assessment: the system is the best developed
and most modern in Africa

domestic: 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 Bloe