|
Jordan Telecommunications
The Jordan Telecommunications Corporation (TCC), a wholly
government-owned semi-autonomous entity under the Ministry of
Communications, was in charge of providing domestic and
international telecommunications services in 1988. Since 1971 the
TCC had exercised a monopoly over all forms of public
telecommunications, including telephone, telex, telegraph,
facsimile, and television transmissions. The TCC was profitable and
a net contributor to the budget. In 1988 the government was moving
forward cautiously with plans to privatize the company in stages--
using as its model the privatization of British Telecom--and
planned eventually to sell all or part of the equity to public
stockholders.
In the 1980s, TCC increased the number of connected telephone
lines by almost 20 percent per year while introducing technological
improvements such as digital switching and radio microwave links.
International direct dialing was introduced in 1982; in 1989,
Jordan had one Atlantic Ocean International Telecommunications
Satellite Organization (INTELSAT) channel, one Indian Ocean
INTELSAT channel, and one Arab Satellite Organization (ARABSAT)
channel. In 1988, more than 200,000 direct exchange lines were in
service, with about 85,000 applicants on a waiting list, so that
only about 70 percent of demand was satisfied. A private citizen
waited about five years for a line, but most businesses could
obtain a line quickly by paying a surcharge to avoid the waiting
list. Line density in 1988 was 7 percent of the population, better
than in most countries with similar per capita GNP. Telephone
service was concentrated in Amman, where more than 60 percent of
all lines were installed. Altogether, about 75 percent of Jordanian
villages and cities had access to telephone service. Despite 12
percent forecast annual demand growth, line density was expected to
grow to 12 percent of the population by the early 1990s because of
a planned US$340 million investment in new equipment and services.
Local calls in Amman were free and were subsidized by exorbitant
international rates. In 1987, however, because of protests by
businesses and private citizens, international rates were cut
drastically (up to 50 percent, depending on the country called).
Data as of December 1989
|
