the efficiency and
increasing the volume of the urban service but also bringing
telephone service to several thousand villages, not presently
connected
domestic: as a result of heavy investing in the telephone system
since 1994, the number of long-distance channels in the microwave
radio relay trunk has grown substantially; many villages have been
brought into the net; the number of main lines in the urban systems
has approximately doubled; and thousands of mobile cellular
subscribers are being served; moreover, the technical level of the
system has been raised by the installation of thousands of digital
switches
international: country code - 98; HF radio and microwave radio relay
to Turkey, Azerbaijan, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Syria,
Kuwait, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan; submarine fiber-optic cable to
UAE with access to Fiber-Optic Link Around the Globe (FLAG);
Trans-Asia-Europe (TAE) fiber-optic line runs from Azerbaijan
through the northern portion of Iran to Turkmenistan with expansion
to Georgia and Azerbaijan; satellite earth stations - 9 Intelsat and
4 Inmarsat

Iraq
general assessment: the 2003 war severely disrupted
telecommunications throughout Iraq including international
connections; USAID is overseeing the repair of switching capability
and the construction of mobile and satellite communication facilities
domestic: repairs to switches and lines destroyed in the recent
fighting continue, but sabotage remains a problem; cellular service
is expected to be in place within two years
international: country code - 964; satellite earth stations - 2
Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean), 1 Intersputnik
(Atlantic Ocean region), and 1 Arabsat (inoperative); coaxial cable
and microwave radio relay to Jordan, Kuwait, Syria, and Turkey;
Kuwait line is probably nonoperational

Ireland
general assessment: modern digital system using cable and
microwave radio relay
domestic: microwave radio relay
international: country code - 353; satellite earth station - 1
Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)

Israel
general assessment: most highly developed system in the
Middle East although not the largest
domestic: good system of coaxial cable and microwave radio relay;
all systems are digital
international: country code - 972; 3 submarine cables; satellite
earth stations - 3 Intelsat (2 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean)

Italy