Telecommunications: In the early 2000s, Uzbekistan’s telephone system was in poor condition, and in 2005 there were only 7.4 main lines per 100 population. A government program, begun in 1994 and scheduled for completion in 2010, would modernize the system by adding digital exchanges and expanding to provide 13 main lines per 100 population. Technical support for that program is provided by the Japanese International Cooperation Agency. Substantial progress has been made in Samarqand and Tashkent, where there were 24 lines per 100 population in 2001, but as the rural population rose, the overall line-to-user ratio remained the same between 1994 and 2001. Digital telecommunications, which totaled 935,000 lines in 2005, are located almost exclusively in urban areas. In 2005 an estimated 1 million mobile telephones, using six cellular networks, were in use. In 2005 an estimated 811,000 people were using the Internet, compared with 7,500 in 2000. The number of Internet service providers also increased very rapidly between 2001 and 2005. In 2005 Uzbekistan adopted a new telecommunications and information transfer program to accelerate development through 2010.
The state-run Republic of Yemen Television and Republic of Yemen Radio operate the country’s television and radio networks, respectively. According to the U.S. government, as of 1998 Yemen had six AM, one FM, and two shortwave radio broadcast stations and seven television broadcast stations, plus several low-power repeaters.