ed 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
international: country code - 36; Hungary has fiber-optic cable
connections with all neighboring countries; the international switch
is in Budapest; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic
Ocean and Indian Ocean regions), 1 Inmarsat, 1 very small aperture
terminal (VSAT) system of ground terminals
Iceland
general assessment: extensive domestic service
domestic: the trunk network consists of coaxial and fiber-optic
cables and microwave radio relay links
international: country code - 354; satellite earth stations - 2
Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean), 1 Inmarsat (Atlantic and Indian Ocean
regions); note - Iceland shares the Inmarsat earth station with the
other Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden)
India
general assessment: recent deregulation and liberalization of
telecommunications laws and policies have prompted rapid growth;
local and long distance service provided throughout all regions of
the country, with services primarily concentrated in the urban
areas; steady improvement is taking place with the recent admission
of private and private-public investors, but telephone density
remains low at about ten for each 100 persons nationwide and only
one per 100 persons in rural areas; there remains a national waiting
list of over 1.7 million; fastest growth is in cellular service with
modest growth in fixed lines
domestic: 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 six satellites supporting 33,000 very
small aperture terminals (VSAT)
international: country code - 91; nine satellite earth stations - 8
Intelsat (Indian Ocean) and 1 Inmarsat (Indian Ocean region); nine
gateway exchanges operating from Mumbai (
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