Internet in Kyrgyzstan

In Kyrgyzstan , around 34.4% of the population used the internet in 2016 , which is below the global average of 51.7%. The top-level domain of Kyrgyzstan is .kg .

Dissemination and Access

Access to the Internet in Kyrgyzstan is mainly concentrated in urban areas . The state-owned KyrgyzTelecom controls 78 percent of the Internet market .

Although the number of users is growing steadily, 28 percent is relatively low in a global comparison. In 2009 this value was 16 percent. 64 percent of Internet users live in cities and 36 percent in rural areas. 41 percent of Internet users live in the Kyrgyz capital Bishkek . 77 percent said that they obtained information via the mobile Internet . 29 percent not only use the Internet at work, but also use it at home. Because of the growing popularity of mobile Internet lost Internet cafes market share in recent years. The Beeline company dominates with 4 GB of transfer volume per month. With a data transfer rate of 28.8 Mbps and free access to the social networks Odnoklassniki and Facebook , they dominate the market. The cost of this is approximately $ 8 per month. The Internet provider Megacom offers a transfer volume of 2 GB per month for 10 USD.

The number of people using a cell phone is 129 percent higher than the number of Internet users. The mobile phone providers state that it covers 90 percent of the inhabited area. With a 3G connection, the third generation of cellular standards, Beeline offers nationwide coverage throughout the country. From January 2012, Megacom offered 3G connections in Bishkek. With the above measures, around half of the inhabited area of ​​Kyrgyzstan could be supplied at the end of 2013.

The price of an Internet connection has fallen sharply in recent years, making Internet access affordable for parts of the population. This is especially true for the capital. There is also strong competition there between the providers. Prices for the data transfer rate of 3 Mbps fluctuate in the capital between USD 15 and USD 45 per month. The maximum data transfer rate is 10 Mbps. KyrgyzTelecom usually offers the fastest speeds and is the only Internet service provider in some areas . In early 2015, a data rate of 128 Kbps cost $ 14 in some rural areas. In February of the same year, the minimum bandwidth was increased to 512 Kbps without increasing the price. The median monthly income in Kyrgyzstan is around € 130.

KygryzTelecom developed 52 WLAN hotspots at 16 different locations with a data transfer rate of 256 Kbps each.

In comparison to other countries, the market for Internet providers in this region is organized on the basis of a market economy. The four major Internet providers are KyrgyzTelecom, Elcat , Megaline and Saima Telecom . The last three are private. The largest private provider is Megaline.

There are seven cell phone companies in Kyrgyzstan. The two largest are Megaline and Beeline, they have almost the same market share.

State intervention

State intervention in the Internet has improved since the fall of President Kurmanbek Bakiev in 2010. However, a number of legal restrictions prevent Internet use. In addition, the demands on Internet service providers have increased because they have to develop surveillance technologies in order to be able to prosecute illegal content.

Network operators are not obliged to use state lines to connect their cables to the Internet. Since an internet line ran through Kazakhstan , the LiveJournal platform in Kyrgyzstan was temporarily unavailable for some internet users. This issue was resolved in 2015. The government of Kyrgyzstan, which respects freedom of the press more than its neighbors, has not yet imposed any restrictions on social networks .

The network operators are not obliged to use state lines. Television remains the most important source of news for the population. There are indications that the government in Bishkek tried to delete some of the content.

In May 2016, a law was passed that allows the government to block websites operated in other countries in Kyrgyzstan. In February 2015 there was a suggestion that websites may be blocked even without a court order.

To some extent, there is self-censorship as domestic bloggers and journalists conform to the government in their reporting.

Article 31 of the Kyrgyz Constitution guarantees freedom of thought, expression and freedom of the press. Article 29 guarantees privacy and prohibits collective data collection. The separation of the judicial and executive branches is sometimes not taken into account. This is also related to the fact that the judges are underpaid and corruption can arise.

Internet forums

Forums on the Internet are often used to influence public opinion . This happens mainly through so-called trolls , who receive grants from politicians. The monthly payments for a controlled campaign by a troll are between 200 and 700 USD.

privacy

As in most of the former Soviet states , Kyrgyzstan is constantly improving surveillance technologies. It is often compared with the state of development in Russia . In 2010 and 2011 there were some scandals about the abuse of these technologies.

Cyber ​​attacks

Politically motivated cyber attacks are rare. Some hackers hacked the news agency [Kabar.kg]. However, this did not affect the work of this news agency.

See also

• Internet in Azerbaijan
• Internet in Turkey

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Internet Users by Country (2016) Internetlivestats.com (English). Last accessed on December 31, 2017
2. ↑ INTERNET USAGE STATISTICS The Internet Big Picture Internet World Stats. Last accessed on December 31, 2017
3. ↑ Average income in Kyrgyzstan Design diary for tourism brand in Kyrgyzstan. Average income is mentioned in the article. Last accessed June 26, 2016
4. ↑ Ranking list of press freedom ROG on freedom of the press. Last accessed on June 28, 2016
5. ↑ Media in Kyrgyzstan ( Memento of the original from April 5, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Last accessed on June 28, 2016  
6. ↑ Troll Wars in Central Asia IWPR on the Trolls in Central Asia . Last accessed on June 28, 2016
7. ↑ Internet in Kyrgyzstan a long report on the Internet in Kyrgyzstan by Freedom House . Last accessed on June 28, 2016