of Internet users as of 2008 was 2.4 million—approximately 8.8 percent of the country’s population. 12 According to local surveys, in contrast to neighboring countries,
Uzbek women use the Internet at a rate almost equal to that of their male counterparts,
with a difference of 3 percent. 13 About 41.3 percent of Internet users are in the 16 to 20
age range. 14 Uzbek users most commonly access the Internet from their home (42.73
percent) and work (44.60 percent), and over 70 percent of Internet users are in the
capital Tashkent. Approximately 30 percent of the Internet users visit Internet cafe ´s. 15
According to official data as of April 2009, there were 873 Internet access centers in
Uzbekistan. 16
Residential Internet services are unaffordable for the majority of the population. The
average cost of dial-up services is USD 0.37 per hour, and unlimited access is USD 67.14
per month. The cost of ADSL access is significantly lower: on average, it does not
exceed USD 15 per month and offers a speed of 128 Kbps. The quality of Internet access and communication services in Uzbekistan is rapidly improving. The bandwidth
capacity of the external channels of Internet access has shown steady growth. 17 As of
2009, it totaled 825 Mbps, up from 44 Mbps in July 2004. 18
The domain registration of the national ‘‘.uz’’ zone has been decentralized since
December 2005 when five operators (now seven) 19 were granted the status of registrars.
Created with the support of foreign organizations, the Computerization and Information Technology Developing Center (UzInfoCom) is a NGO that develops computer
and information technologies and administers the country-code top-level domain
name ‘‘.uz.’’ 20 According to UzInfoCom, as of April 2009 the number of domains registered in the ‘‘.uz’’ zone was 8,298. 21
The most popular language among Uzbek Internet users is Russian (up to 70 percent), followed by Uzbek (25 percent), and English (just about 1 percent). The most visited Web sites in Uzbekistan are media sites and search engines located in the Russian
Internet zone (‘‘.ru’’).
According to information published by the State Committee on Radio Frequencies of
the Republic of Uzbekistan, the number of cellular phone customers in Uzbekistan has
nearly doubled during the last year, and as of November 1, 2008, it had reached the
level of 12.5 million. 22 There are five cellular operators currently active on the market
of Uzbekistan: MTS-Uzbekistan (GSM), Unitel or Beeline (GSM), Coscom (GSM), Rubicon Wireless Communication–Perfectum Mobile (CDMA), and Uzmobile (CDMA).
Legal and Regulatory Frameworks
The Uzbekistan government has approved the Program for Development of Computerization and Information and Communication Technologies for 2002–2010. 23 This program envisions the establishment of a national segment of the Internet and aims to
cover all cities and settlements in the country with ICT services by the end of 2010.
268
Uzbekistan
Uzbek women use the Internet at a rate almost equal to that of their male counterparts,
with a difference of 3 percent. 13 About 41.3 percent of Internet users are in the 16 to 20
age range. 14 Uzbek users most commonly access the Internet from their home (42.73
percent) and work (44.60 percent), and over 70 percent of Internet users are in the
capital Tashkent. Approximately 30 percent of the Internet users visit Internet cafe ´s. 15
According to official data as of April 2009, there were 873 Internet access centers in
Uzbekistan. 16
Residential Internet services are unaffordable for the majority of the population. The
average cost of dial-up services is USD 0.37 per hour, and unlimited access is USD 67.14
per month. The cost of ADSL access is significantly lower: on average, it does not
exceed USD 15 per month and offers a speed of 128 Kbps. The quality of Internet access and communication services in Uzbekistan is rapidly improving. The bandwidth
capacity of the external channels of Internet access has shown steady growth. 17 As of
2009, it totaled 825 Mbps, up from 44 Mbps in July 2004. 18
The domain registration of the national ‘‘.uz’’ zone has been decentralized since
December 2005 when five operators (now seven) 19 were granted the status of registrars.
Created with the support of foreign organizations, the Computerization and Information Technology Developing Center (UzInfoCom) is a NGO that develops computer
and information technologies and administers the country-code top-level domain
name ‘‘.uz.’’ 20 According to UzInfoCom, as of April 2009 the number of domains registered in the ‘‘.uz’’ zone was 8,298. 21
The most popular language among Uzbek Internet users is Russian (up to 70 percent), followed by Uzbek (25 percent), and English (just about 1 percent). The most visited Web sites in Uzbekistan are media sites and search engines located in the Russian
Internet zone (‘‘.ru’’).
According to information published by the State Committee on Radio Frequencies of
the Republic of Uzbekistan, the number of cellular phone customers in Uzbekistan has
nearly doubled during the last year, and as of November 1, 2008, it had reached the
level of 12.5 million. 22 There are five cellular operators currently active on the market
of Uzbekistan: MTS-Uzbekistan (GSM), Unitel or Beeline (GSM), Coscom (GSM), Rubicon Wireless Communication–Perfectum Mobile (CDMA), and Uzmobile (CDMA).
Legal and Regulatory Frameworks
The Uzbekistan government has approved the Program for Development of Computerization and Information and Communication Technologies for 2002–2010. 23 This program envisions the establishment of a national segment of the Internet and aims to
cover all cities and settlements in the country with ICT services by the end of 2010.
268
Uzbekistan