TTN.
I think people have forgotten what it used to be like back in the sixties/seventies. I've not watched last night's episode yet, so can't comment on that. I never tried calling from Khormaksar back in '67, but I suspect it would be close to impossible, and would probably need authorisation from on high.
In 1974 I was stopping over in Townsville, Queensland, with a Hercules, and wanted to ring my wife back in UK. After contacting the "international operator", it was a wait of nearly thirty minutes before the call was connected.