To fully appreciate how much progress has been made in Afghanistan as a whole since October 7, 2001, requires a look back. When operation Enduring Freedom began on that date, the country had seen decades of unrest, and its gross national product had been in decline. In terms of communications, basic telephone service and Internet access were essentially nonexistent. Years of underinvestment had impeded development of a national communications network. The country had fewer than 15,000 telephones and no cell phones; only one Internet service provider existed. Most of these capabilities were in the hands of a Taliban government that endeavored to keep communication among the population at a minimum. Prohibitive pricing also restricted telecommunications; a cell phone cost approximately $400, with calling charges at around $2 a minute. To communicate, citizens-mostly in the metropolitan areas of Herat, Kandahar, Mazar-e Sharif and Kabul-relied on radios.
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