Telecommunications in Kyrgyzstan

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Telecommunications in Kyrgyzstan include fixed and mobile telephones and the Internet.

Communications policy

The long-term goal of the government's information and communications technology strategy is for the telecommunications sector to contribute 5 percent to gross domestic product by 2010.^{[needs update]} The June 2006 launch of the KazSat communications satellite from Kazakhstan was expected to reduce the dependence of all the Central Asian countries on European and U.S. telecommunications satellites. Launch of a second KazSat is planned for 2009.^{[1][needs update]}

Telephones

In the early 2000s,

• Telephone system:
  • domestic: principally microwave radio relay; one cellular provider, probably limited to Bishkek region;
  • international: connections with other CIS countries by landline or microwave radio relay and with other countries by leased connections with Moscow international gateway switch and by satellite; satellite earth stations - 1 Intersputnik and 1 Intelsat; connected internationally by the Trans-Asia-Europe (TAE) fiber-optic line.

Internet

internet cafes

in Bishkek

In the early 2000s,

top level domain is .kg.

Variable upload/download speeds through xDSL are available through state telephone company Kyrgyz Telecom (up to 8 Mbit/s downlink) and private ISPs (up to 10 Mbit/s downlink). There is typically a monthly cap on the amount of data transferred, with separate caps depending on whether the data stays within Kyrgyzstan or travels beyond the border. Broadband internet access with unlimited international traffic is rarely offered by ISPs to the market at significantly higher price. This is probably due to the lack of country's telecommunications bandwidth capacity.

, with the capacity of 622 Mbit/s, where Kyrgyzstan has completed its part. Completion of this project might affect broadband internet prices in Kyrgyzstan.

There are several ISPs that provide

access using different technologies such as xDSL, ISDN, Leased Line, and Ethernet. ISPs in Kyrgyzstan include Kyrgyz Telecom, Elcat, Asiainfo, Transfer Ltd, Totel, Megaline, Aknet, Intranet, Saima Telecom, My4G, Rikonet, AlaTV, ExNET, and IPSWICH.

Internet censorship and surveillance

Listed as engaged in selective Internet filtering in the political and social areas and as little or no evidence of filtering in the conflict/security and Internet tools areas by the OpenNet Initiative (ONI) in December 2010.^[2]

Access to the Internet in Kyrgyzstan has deteriorated as heightened political tensions have led to more frequent instances of second- and third-generation controls. The government has become more sensitive to the Internet's influence on domestic politics and enacted laws that increase its authority to regulate the sector.^[2]

Liberalisation of the telecommunications market in Kyrgyzstan has made the Internet affordable for the majority of the population. However, Kyrgyzstan is an effectively cyberlocked country dependent on purchasing bandwidth from Kazakhstan and Russia. The increasingly authoritarian regime in Kazakhstan is shifting toward more restrictive Internet controls, which is leading to instances of "upstream filtering" affecting ISPs in Kyrgyzstan.^[2]

See also

• Media of Kyrgyzstan

References