access through Beltelecom was around USD 0.68 per hour, while an ADSL connection
(512 Kbps) cost around USD 122 per month, 5 placing the latter beyond the reach of
most citizens, given that the average salary was around USD 436 per month as of July
2008. Private operators are attempting to break into the market by offering lower prices.
Because Beltelecom controls the market, tariffs for residential local calls are below
cost. The government is preserving this policy in order to ensure that fixed voice services are affordable for all. 6 At the same time, Beltelecom is keeping prices high for
international calls and Internet access service, a policy that allows the operator to subsidize local call services and remain a revenue-generating enterprise. This policy, however, hinders the establishment of a competitive market.
In recent years, broadband Internet services have developed rapidly. Beltelecom has
announced plans to provide broadband Internet service to a large number of its subscribers and to launch Wi-Fi service. In April 2008, the Ministry of Communications
estimated that 170,000 Internet users were using broadband services and forecast that
by 2010 this number would reach 500,000 users. 7
The most active Internet users in Belarus belong to the 17–22 age group (38 percent),
followed by users in the 23–29 age group. 8 Internet access in Belarus is predominantly
urban, with 60 percent of users living in the capital Minsk. The profile of the average
Internet user is male, university educated, living in the capital, and working in a state
enterprise. The Ministry for Statistics and Analysis estimates that one in four families in
Belarus owns a computer at home. 9 In 2005, 58 percent of schools in Belarus had computers, and 25 percent of the schools had Internet access. The popularity of Internet
cafe ´s has fallen in recent years, as most users prefer to access the Internet from home
or work. Russian is the most widely used language by Belarusians on the Internet, followed by Belarusian, English, and Polish.
As Internet usage has risen, related services have developed into fast-growing and
profitable businesses in Belarus. According to ministry data, 150 ISPs had licenses to
operate in the country, while only 41 were active at the beginning of 2008. 10 Conditional on obtaining a license, ISPs and mobile operators can apparently enter the
market without facing any serious barriers. Fixed-line operators, however, are awaiting
further liberalization of the market. There are four mobile operators, and the government owns stakes in all of them. The country’s first deputy IT and communications
minister, Ivan Rak, has announced that the tender for 3G licenses in Belarus would be
held by September 1, 2009. 11 The state-controlled operator Beltelecom holds the biggest market share, with 187 public Internet access points in the country. Beltelecom’s
subsidiary Belpak is the main ISP in the country. Beltelecom holds exclusive rights over
the external channels of communications, 12 and all ISPs are required to run their traffic
through its infrastructure, often at high prices.
Only the network of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus (BasNet) has its
own independent satellite connection, 13 but it provides Internet access exclusively to
Belarus
163
(512 Kbps) cost around USD 122 per month, 5 placing the latter beyond the reach of
most citizens, given that the average salary was around USD 436 per month as of July
2008. Private operators are attempting to break into the market by offering lower prices.
Because Beltelecom controls the market, tariffs for residential local calls are below
cost. The government is preserving this policy in order to ensure that fixed voice services are affordable for all. 6 At the same time, Beltelecom is keeping prices high for
international calls and Internet access service, a policy that allows the operator to subsidize local call services and remain a revenue-generating enterprise. This policy, however, hinders the establishment of a competitive market.
In recent years, broadband Internet services have developed rapidly. Beltelecom has
announced plans to provide broadband Internet service to a large number of its subscribers and to launch Wi-Fi service. In April 2008, the Ministry of Communications
estimated that 170,000 Internet users were using broadband services and forecast that
by 2010 this number would reach 500,000 users. 7
The most active Internet users in Belarus belong to the 17–22 age group (38 percent),
followed by users in the 23–29 age group. 8 Internet access in Belarus is predominantly
urban, with 60 percent of users living in the capital Minsk. The profile of the average
Internet user is male, university educated, living in the capital, and working in a state
enterprise. The Ministry for Statistics and Analysis estimates that one in four families in
Belarus owns a computer at home. 9 In 2005, 58 percent of schools in Belarus had computers, and 25 percent of the schools had Internet access. The popularity of Internet
cafe ´s has fallen in recent years, as most users prefer to access the Internet from home
or work. Russian is the most widely used language by Belarusians on the Internet, followed by Belarusian, English, and Polish.
As Internet usage has risen, related services have developed into fast-growing and
profitable businesses in Belarus. According to ministry data, 150 ISPs had licenses to
operate in the country, while only 41 were active at the beginning of 2008. 10 Conditional on obtaining a license, ISPs and mobile operators can apparently enter the
market without facing any serious barriers. Fixed-line operators, however, are awaiting
further liberalization of the market. There are four mobile operators, and the government owns stakes in all of them. The country’s first deputy IT and communications
minister, Ivan Rak, has announced that the tender for 3G licenses in Belarus would be
held by September 1, 2009. 11 The state-controlled operator Beltelecom holds the biggest market share, with 187 public Internet access points in the country. Beltelecom’s
subsidiary Belpak is the main ISP in the country. Beltelecom holds exclusive rights over
the external channels of communications, 12 and all ISPs are required to run their traffic
through its infrastructure, often at high prices.
Only the network of the National Academy of Sciences of Belarus (BasNet) has its
own independent satellite connection, 13 but it provides Internet access exclusively to
Belarus
163