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 APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA-RDP01-00707R00020011022-9

East Germany's airfield network is fully adequate to support sustained military air operations, and it probably could support additional jet-fighter regiments if the Soviets were to deploy to forward areas. Gross Dolln could definitely support Soviet heavy bombers, and several other fields having 8,200-foot runways could sustain medium- or heavy-bomber activities. Details of selected airfields are given in Figure 12.

K. Telecommunications (S)

Telecommunication (telecom) systems in East Germany satisfy political, economic, and military requirements. The development level equals or exceeds the levels attained in other Soviet-oriented countries but is below those of most Western nations. Services include domestic and international telephone, telegraph, radiobroadcast, and TV facilities.

Civil telecom networks are based on a state or district (Bezirk) structure. Construction, administration, and operation of the networks is a task of the Ministry for Posts and Telecommunications (MPT). The MPT also has some responsibilities for research and the production of prototype equipment. In 1971 there were 120,000 employees, 67% of which were females. To maintain a high technical level, all technicians are educated in a number of MPT schools. Government wire-line communications, including those of the Ministry for National Defense, are generally transmitted on MPT channels. The German State Railways and the national power system, however, operate their own networks.

The telephone is the primary medium of communication. All urban, most intercity, and part of the international telephone switching circuits are automatic. Exchange switching equipment is mainly of the Strowger selector type, but cross-bar equipment is used at a few installations. Approximately 2,185,000 telephones are in use.

Telegrams are accepted at post offices in written form or at telegraph offices by telephone. They are also accepted from subscribers over the telex (private teleprinter subscriber service) network for onward transmission to telegraph offices. Automatic telex links are available to 18 countries. Telegrams are distributed via main telegraph offices in each of the district of the capitals and by the central telegraph offices in East Berlin and Leipzig.

A black-and-white program is broadcast by 12 regional and seven local TV stations, which, together with 325 low-power rebroadcast stations, reach more than 96% of the population. Since 1969 a second program, in color, has been broadcast by five stations using the SECAM system. National studios in East Berlin and regional studios in Rostock and Leipzig distribute programs over microwave relay routes with extensions into Poland and Czechoslovakia. As of January 1972 about 4.5 million television sets were in use.

The AM broadcast network has transmitter facilities in 19 cities. East Germany has about 6 million radio sets. AM and FM programs can be received nationwide and, additionally, AM programs are broadcast in foreign languages for international audiences. Program planning is under control of the National Broadcasting Committee. Primary studio and transmitting installations are in East Berlin, secondary studios are in Leipzig and other large communities. Four of the main broadcast transmitter stations are in or near East Berlin. One is in the Koepenick sector of the city, and the others are at Koenigs Winterhausen, Nauen, and Zehlendorf. The station at Nauen, the largest in the country, has transmitters occupying at least three separate buildings and include HF transmitters used primarily for foreign broadcasts. Transmitters have power outputs of 5, 50, and 100 kilowatts. Key FM facilities are at East Berlin, Brocken, Dequede, Dresden, Gross Inselsberg, Leipzig, Madow, and Schwerin.

The TV network, centered at a new transmitter site in East Berlin, broadcasts two programs. Stations broadcasting Program I use the Western European 625-line transmitting standards instead of those used by other Eastern European Communist countries. Stations broadcasting Program II are equipped to broadcast color programs via UHF channels and use the French SECAM transmission system. Stations in Program I and Program II networks are collocated in towers also housing FM transmitters and facilities for broadcasting TV programs.

The radio-relay network provides supplementary intercity telephone channels and circuits for VT program distribution. Equipment includes RVG-958 and RVG-960 radio-relay sets providing up to 680 telephone channels and RVG-962 and RVG-961 sets providing two TV channels on one TV channel and 960 telephone channels. RVG equipment is manufactured by RAFENA, a government-owned firm at Rudeberg.

The long-distance network consists of coaxial and multiconductor cables encircling the East Berlin area. The section of the East Berlin Ring that connects Potsdam, Zeuchen, Strausberg, and Lilienthal has twin Type-17 coaxial cables, each containing one coaxial tube leaving a 34-millimeter

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APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA-RDP01-00707R00020011022-9