growth: as of June 2006 it totaled 160.2 Mb/s, up
from 44 Mb/s in July 2004.
The number of Internet service providers
(ISPs) in Uzbekistan has grown considerably,
from 25 in 1999 to 539 in 2005. Because of
increased licensing requirements the number of
ISPs dropped to 430 in 2006. There are seven
top-tier ISPs with connections to China, Russia,
Italy, Germany, and the Netherlands. The country
also has a network of microwave radio relay lines
that provide for high-speed data transmission.
The sole Internet exchange point, used by the
seventeen aggregator ISPs, is located in Uzbek
Central Telegraph’s premises. 7
The domain registration of the national “.uz”
zone was decentralized in December 2005 when
five operators were granted the status of registrars. Created with foreign organizations’ support, the Computerization and Information
Technology Developing Center (UzInfoCom) is a
quasi-nongovernmental organization 8 that develops computer and information technologies and
administers the country code top-level domain
name (“.uz”). 9 According to the data of
UzInfoCom, as of October 2005 there were 2,704
second-level domains.
Russian is the most popular language
among Internet users (up to 70 percent), followed
by Uzbek and English. The most visited Web
sites in Uzbekistan are media sites and search
engines located in the Russian Internet zone
(“.ru”).
Legal and regulatory frameworks
Although the constitution of Uzbekistan guarantees freedom of expression and prohibits censorship, 10 the Central Inspection on Protecting State
Secrets in the Press officially censored media
until 2002. Since then the government has
increasingly compelled self-censorship on online
media publishers, bloggers, and opposition leaders through a variety of means. 11 A recent example is the newly adopted Mass Media Law.
12
Discussions of its drafts were closed to the public to minimize media criticism of restrictive provisions. The Law holds media owners, editors, and
staff members responsible for the “objectivity” of
the published materials. 13 Independent and foreign media, including online publishers, need to
register with the Cabinet of Ministers in
Uzbekistan. In addition, the Law forbids entities
with 30 percent or more foreign participation to
establish their own media outlets in the country.
Online versions of newspapers also fall within the
Law’s scope, and as such are subject to registration if their content differs from the printed
publication. In order to gain more control over
Internet content, the government has stated that
subsequent regulations will specify the type of
Web sites that need to be registered. 14
The formal regulation of the Internet and
electronic mass media commenced with the
adoption of regulation no. 52 by the Cabinet of
Ministers, 15 which established a National
Network of Information Transmission (UzPAK)
and ensured its monopoly on international
Internet connectivity for the purposes of preserving the national information security. The government’s strict enforcement of this regulation resulted in several Web sites becoming temporarily
inaccessible. 16 Regulation no. 352 abolished
UzPAK’s monopoly on the international connections and fostered a decentralization process in
the field of Internet providers. 17 However, more
than 80 percent of ISPs still run their connection
through UzPAK despite the high tariffs. A few
ISPs have their own international satellite connections, which provide better service than
UzPAK, for lower fees. A growing trend among
ISPs is to use UzPAK’s lines to send messages
and satellite networks to view or download information. This solution allows the providers to circumvent UzPAK’s monitoring network and the
channels’ low capacities.
UzPAK was set up within the Communications and Information Agency (UzACI), 18 which
is the principal state agency regulating services
in the area of communications, including the
Country Summaries
411
from 44 Mb/s in July 2004.
The number of Internet service providers
(ISPs) in Uzbekistan has grown considerably,
from 25 in 1999 to 539 in 2005. Because of
increased licensing requirements the number of
ISPs dropped to 430 in 2006. There are seven
top-tier ISPs with connections to China, Russia,
Italy, Germany, and the Netherlands. The country
also has a network of microwave radio relay lines
that provide for high-speed data transmission.
The sole Internet exchange point, used by the
seventeen aggregator ISPs, is located in Uzbek
Central Telegraph’s premises. 7
The domain registration of the national “.uz”
zone was decentralized in December 2005 when
five operators were granted the status of registrars. Created with foreign organizations’ support, the Computerization and Information
Technology Developing Center (UzInfoCom) is a
quasi-nongovernmental organization 8 that develops computer and information technologies and
administers the country code top-level domain
name (“.uz”). 9 According to the data of
UzInfoCom, as of October 2005 there were 2,704
second-level domains.
Russian is the most popular language
among Internet users (up to 70 percent), followed
by Uzbek and English. The most visited Web
sites in Uzbekistan are media sites and search
engines located in the Russian Internet zone
(“.ru”).
Legal and regulatory frameworks
Although the constitution of Uzbekistan guarantees freedom of expression and prohibits censorship, 10 the Central Inspection on Protecting State
Secrets in the Press officially censored media
until 2002. Since then the government has
increasingly compelled self-censorship on online
media publishers, bloggers, and opposition leaders through a variety of means. 11 A recent example is the newly adopted Mass Media Law.
12
Discussions of its drafts were closed to the public to minimize media criticism of restrictive provisions. The Law holds media owners, editors, and
staff members responsible for the “objectivity” of
the published materials. 13 Independent and foreign media, including online publishers, need to
register with the Cabinet of Ministers in
Uzbekistan. In addition, the Law forbids entities
with 30 percent or more foreign participation to
establish their own media outlets in the country.
Online versions of newspapers also fall within the
Law’s scope, and as such are subject to registration if their content differs from the printed
publication. In order to gain more control over
Internet content, the government has stated that
subsequent regulations will specify the type of
Web sites that need to be registered. 14
The formal regulation of the Internet and
electronic mass media commenced with the
adoption of regulation no. 52 by the Cabinet of
Ministers, 15 which established a National
Network of Information Transmission (UzPAK)
and ensured its monopoly on international
Internet connectivity for the purposes of preserving the national information security. The government’s strict enforcement of this regulation resulted in several Web sites becoming temporarily
inaccessible. 16 Regulation no. 352 abolished
UzPAK’s monopoly on the international connections and fostered a decentralization process in
the field of Internet providers. 17 However, more
than 80 percent of ISPs still run their connection
through UzPAK despite the high tariffs. A few
ISPs have their own international satellite connections, which provide better service than
UzPAK, for lower fees. A growing trend among
ISPs is to use UzPAK’s lines to send messages
and satellite networks to view or download information. This solution allows the providers to circumvent UzPAK’s monitoring network and the
channels’ low capacities.
UzPAK was set up within the Communications and Information Agency (UzACI), 18 which
is the principal state agency regulating services
in the area of communications, including the
Country Summaries
411