each instrument having its own private radio frequency with sufficient radiated power to reach the booster station in its area (cell), from which the telephone signal is fed to a regular telephone exchange
Central American Microwave System—a trunk microwave radio relay system that links the countries of Central America and Mexico with each other
coaxial cable—a multichannel communication cable consisting of a central conducting wire, surrounded by and insulated from a cylindrical conducting shell; a large number of telephone channels can be made available within the insulated space by the use of a large number of carrier frequencies
DSN—Defense Switched Network (formerly Automatic Voice Network or
Autovon); basic general—purpose, switched voice network of the
Defense Communications System (US Department of Defense)
Eutelsat—European Telecommunications Satellite Organization (Paris)
fiber-optic cable—a multichannel communications cable using a thread of optical glass fibers as a transmission medium in which the signal (voice, video, etc.) is in the form of a coded pulse of light
HF—high-frequency; any radio frequency in the 3,000- to 30,000-kHz range
Inmarsat-International Mobile Satellite Organization (London); provider of global mobile satellite communications for commercial and distress and safety applications, at sea, in the air, and on land
Intelsat—International Telecommunications Satellite Organization
(Washington, DC)
Intersputnik—International Organization of Space Communications
(Moscow); first established in the former Soviet Union and the East
European countries, it is now marketing its services worldwide with
earth stations in North America, Africa, and East Asia
landline—communication wire or cable of any sort that is installed on poles or buried in the ground
Marecs—Maritime European Communications Satellite used in the
Inmarsat system on lease from the European Space Agency
Marisat—satellites of the Comsat Corporation that participate in the
Inmarsat system
Medarabtel—the Middle East Telecommunications Project of the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), providing a modern telecommunications network, primarily by microwave radio relay, linking Algeria, Djibouti, Egypt, Jordan, Libya, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, and Yemen (initially started in Morocco in 1970 by the Arab Telecommunications Union (ATU) and known at that time as the Middle East Mediterranean Telecommunications Network)
NMT—Nordic Mobile Telephone; an analog cellular telephone system that was developed jointly by the national telecommunications authorities of the Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden)
Orbita—a Russian television service; also the trade name of a packet—switched digital telephone network
radiotelephone communications—the two—way transmission and reception of sounds by broadcast radio on authorized frequencies using telephone handsets
satellite communication system—a communication system consisting of two or more earth stations and at least one satellite that provides long distance transmission of voice, data, and television; the system usually serves as a trunk connection between telephone exchanges; if the earth stations are in the same country, it is a domestic system
satellite earth station—a communications facility with a microwave radio transmitting and receiving antenna and required receiving and transmitting equipment for communicating with satellites
satellite link—a radio connection between a satellite and an earth station permitting communication between them, either one—way (down link from satellite to earth station—television receive—only transmission) or two-way (telephone channels)
SHF—super—high—frequency; any radio frequency in the 3,000- to 30,000-MHz range
SHF—super-high-frequency; any radio frequency in the 3,000- to 30,000-MHz range
Solidaridad-geosynchronous satellites in Mexico's system of international telecommunications in the Western Hemisphere
Statsionar—Russia's geostationary system for satellite telecommunications
submarine cable—a cable designed for service under water
TAT—Trans—Atlantic Telephone; any of a number of high—capacity submarine coaxial telephone cables linking Europe with North America
telefax—facsimile service between subscriber stations via the public switched telephone network or the international Datel network
telegraph—a telecommunications system designed for unmodulated electric impulse transmission
telex—a communication service involving teletypewriters connected by wire through automatic exchanges
tropospheric scatter—a form of microwave radio transmission in which the troposphere is used to scatter and reflect a fraction of the incident radio waves back to earth; powerful, highly directional antennas are used to transmit and receive the microwave signals; reliable over-the-horizon communications are realized for distances up to 600 miles in a single hop; additional hops can extend the range of this system for very long distances
trunk network—a network of switching centers, connected by multichannel trunk lines
UHF—ultra-high-frequency; any radio frequency in the 300- to 3,000-MHz range
VHF—very-high-frequency; any radio frequency in the 30- to 300-MHz range
Telephones: This entry gives the total number of subscribers.
Television broadcast stations: This entry gives the total number of separate broadcast stations plus any repeater stations.
Televisions: This entry gives the total number of television sets.
Terminology: Due to the highly structured nature of the Factbook database, some collective generic terms have to be used. "Country name" and "National capital", for example are used collectively to include nations, dependent areas, uninhabited islands, areas of special sovereignty, etc. The term "Military" is also used as an umbrella term for various civil defense, security, and defense activities.
Terrain: This entry contains a brief description of the topography.
Total fertility rate: This entry gives a figure for the average number of children that would be born per woman if all women lived to the end of their childbearing years and bore children according to a given fertility rate at each age. The total fertility rate is a more direct measure of the level of fertility than the crude birth rate, since it refers to births per woman. This indicator shows the potential for population growth in the country. High rates will also place some limits on the labor force participation rates
