microwave radio relay and
coaxial cable, with open wire and obsolete electromechanical and
manual switchboard systems still in use in rural areas; starting in
the 1980s, a substantial amount of digital switch gear has been
introduced for local and long-distance service; long-distance traffic
is carried mostly by coaxial cable and low-capacity microwave radio
relay; since 1985 significant trunk capacity has been added in the
form of fiber-optic cable and a domestic satellite system with 254
earth stations; mobile cellular service is provided in four
metropolitan cities
international: satellite earth stations - 8 Intelsat (Indian Ocean)
and 1 Inmarsat (Indian Ocean region); nine gateway exchanges operating
from Mumbai (Bombay), New Delhi, Calcutta, Chennai (Madras),
Jalandhar, Kanpur, Gaidhinagar, Hyderabad, and Ernakulam; 4 submarine
cables - LOCOM linking Chennai (Madras) to Penang; Indo-UAE-Gulf cable
linking Mumbai (Bombay) to Al Fujayrah, UAE; India-SEA-ME-WE-3,
SEA-ME-WE-2 with landing sites at Cochin and Mumbai (Bombay);
Fiber-Optic Link Around the Globe (FLAG) with landing site at Mumbai
(Bombay)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 153, FM 91, shortwave 68 (1998)

Radios: 116 million (1997)

Television broadcast stations: 562 (of which 82 stations have 1 kW or
greater power and 480 stations have less than 1 kW of power) (1997)

Televisions: 63 million (1997)

Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 3 (1999)

@India:Transportation

Railways:
total: 62,915 km (12,307 km electrified; 12,617 km double track)
broad gauge: 40,620 km 1.676-m gauge
narrow gauge: 18,501 km 1.000-m gauge; 3,794 km 0.762-m and 0.610-m
gauge (1998 est.)

Highways:
total: 3,319,644 km
paved: 1,517,077 km
unpaved: 1,802,567 km (1996 est.)

Waterways: 16,180 km; 3,631 km navigable by large vessels

Pipelines: crude oil 3,005 km; petroleum products 2,687 km; natural
gas 1,700 km (1995)

Ports and harbors: Calcutta, Chennai (Madras), Cochin, Jawaharal
Nehru, Kandla, Mumbai (Bombay), Vishakhapatnam

Merchant marine:
total: 321 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 6,647,268 GRT/11,074,025
DWT
ships by type: bulk 124, cargo 69, chemical tanker 14, combination
bulk 1, combination ore/oil 4, container 15, liquified gas 10,
passenger/cargo 5, petroleum tanker 75, short-sea passenger 2,
specialized tanker 2 (1999 est.)

Airports: 346 (1999 est.)

Airports - with paved runways:
total: 238
over 3,047 m: 12
2,438 to 3,047 m: 49
1,524 to 2,4