e system

Afghanistan
general assessment: limited landline telephone service;
an increasing number of Afghans utilize mobile-cellular phone
networks in major cities
domestic: aided by the presence of multiple providers,
mobile-cellular telephone service is improving rapidly
international: country code - 93; five VSAT's installed in Kabul,
Herat, Mazar-e-Sharif, Kandahar, and Jalalabad provide international
and domestic voice and data connectivity (2007)

Albania
general assessment: despite new investment in fixed lines,
the density of main lines remains low with roughly 10 lines per 100
people; cellular telephone use is widespread and generally
effective; combined fixed line and mobile telephone density is
approximately 75 telephones per 100 persons
domestic: 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 neighbors; Internet broadband services initiated in 2005;
Internet cafes are popular in Tirana and have started to spread
outside the capital
international: country code - 355; submarine cable provides
connectivity to Italy, Croatia, and Greece; the Trans-Balkan Line, a
combination submarine cable and land fiber-optic system, provides
additional connectivity to Bulgaria, Macedonia, and Turkey;
international traffic carried by fiber-optic cable and, when
necessary, by microwave radio relay from the Tirana exchange to
Italy and Greece (2007)

Algeria
general assessment: a weak network of fixed-main lines,
which remains low at less than 10 telephones per 100 persons, is
partially offset by the rapid increase in mobile cellular
subscribership; in 2007, combined fixed-line and mobile telephone
density surpassed 90 telephones per 100 persons
domestic: privatization of Algeria's telecommunications sector began
in 2000; three mobile cellular licenses have been issued and, in
2005, a consortium led by Egypt's Orascom Telecom won a 15-year
license to build and operate a fixed-line network in Algeria; the
license will allow Orascom to develop high-speed data and other
specialized services and contribute to meeting the large unfulfilled
demand for basic residential telephony; Internet broadband services
began in 2003 with approximately 200,000 subscribers in 2006
international: country code -