Central Asian Communications Needs Assessment -ICT 4 Sustainable Mountain Development perspective - with a focus on Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan

The Central Asia communication needs assessment was undertaken in the frame of the Asia Pacific Mountain Network's support to the Mountain Partnership Secretariat. It included telephonic and e-mail discussions with stakeholders from Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, supplemented by online research. Characteristic for the region is the transition to a more decentralized free market economy since the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991. Liberalisation of the telecom sector has brought infusion of capital and competition in the ICT sector. Since the early 2000s, Internet use has exploded in the region, and use of cellular telephony increased substantially. However, internet, landline, or mobile penetration into rural mountain areas has been minimal. The Trans-Europe-Asia fibre optic line, being laid down across Central Asia, and the launch of KazSat communications satellite from Kazakhstan, can help bridging the arural-urban, and rich-poor 'divide' by bringing costs down considerably.