Page:NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE SURVEY 18; CZECHOSLOVAKIA; TRANSPORTATION AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS CIA-RDP01-00707R000200110013-9.pdf/30

 APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA-RDP01-00707R000200110013-9

J. Telecommunications (S)

The relatively modern telecommunication (telecom) system in Czechoslovakia excels those of most other Eastern European Communist countries. They are used chiefly to support the diversified operations of the government and industry; secondary consideration is given to the needs of the general public.

The main industrial and large populated areas are served by a network of hardened underground cables. Open-wire and cable lines generally extend parallel to main highways and railroads. An extensive radio-relay network, providing channels for both domestic and international service, supplements the landlines.

More than 4,800 telephone exchanges are distributed throughout Czechoslovakia. Most have capacities of 200 to 2,000 lines; those in large cities have up to 10,000 lines. Most automatic exchanges use Strowger step-by-step or rotary switches. However, the latest equipment uses crossbar switches. Some 2.2 million telephones are in use, or about 15.4 per 100 population; about 95% are automatic. The domestic telecom system is oriented toward a regional administrative structure. The principal centers are the regional capitals of Banska Bystrica, Bratislava, Brno, Ceske Budejovice, Hradec Kralove, Kosice, Ostrava, Plzen, Prague, and Usti nad Labem. The principal cables extend from the East Germany border in the northwest through Prague, the hub of the network, to the borders of the U.S.S.R. and Hungary in the east and southeast and the Poland border in the northeast. The network is dense in the central and northern parts of the Czech Socialist Republic. The wire facilities are used mainly for telephone, telegraph, telex (teleprinter exchange service), and radiobroadcast distribution service. Radio-relay links are used principally for TV program distribution.

The Committee for Posts and Telecommunications (FVPT), a collective body of 10 members, formulates the state policy for postal and telecom services and supervises the respective telecom ministries in the Czech and Slovak Socialist Republics. Cooperation among the FVPT and the ministries of the two Socialist Republics has resulted in steady expansion of the entire system of postal services and telecom throughout the country. Czechoslovakia participates in international telecom activities through membership in the International Telecommunications Union (ITU), the Organization for Communication Cooperation (Organizatsiya Sotrudvichestva Syvasi—OSS), and the International Radiobroadcasting and Television Organization (OIRT).

The independent government organizations, Czechoslovak Radio and Czechoslovak Television, are responsible for programming and studio operations for radiobroadcast and television. Radiobroadcast service

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APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA-RDP01-00707R000200110013-9