Kyrgyzstan
Overview
Kyrgyzstan's political environment has stabilized in recent years, allowing for more consistent ICT investment and development. As a result, Internet penetration rates have grown. Access, however, varies considerably across the country between urban and rural residents. While the state-run telecom holds 60 percent of the ICT market share, the telecommunications sector is relatively liberalized and competitive.
Access
Kyrgyzstan’s state-run telecom controls 60 percent of the ICT market. ICT infrastructure is generally underdeveloped, making reliable Internet access difficult to find in rural areas. The lack of well-developed ICT infrastructure has meant that only a small portion of the population can regularly use the Internet. In 2011, a USAID survey found that 51 percent of Internet users were located in the capital, with only five percent of rural residents reporting that they used the Internet. High poverty rates in rural areas of the country may also contribute to the lack of users in those areas, as even where access is available, it can be prohibitively expensive. Cyber cafes are popular throughout the country, and two of the largest telecom companies offer 3G networks all over the country, however low numbers of individuals actually report using their phones to access the internet.
Control
Information restrictions in the country eased considerably following the overthrow of President Kurmanbek Bakiev in April 2010, but government regulation of online content remains an issue. Freedom of speech as well as the freedom to access and distribute information are protected by the country's constitution. However, information can be blocked if the government believes it might spark national strife or incite violence. This was the case for the Central Asian news site Ferghana.ru, the only reported site against which the government implemented a block in 2012. Even in this case, however, the government’s block was limited in its effectiveness. While all ISPs were technically required to block the site, as of April 2012 only the state-run telecom did. Ferghana also fought the block, arguing that Parliament did not have the authority to take down the site, and eventually won—access was restored in April 2013.
Activity
Use of the Internet varies widely based on age and occupation. Kyrgyzstan does not have a particularly well-developed blogosphere. According to Freedom House, most of the blogs in the country are for entertainment purposes or are private journals. Many of the more popular blogs are also written in Russian rather than in Kyrgyz. A mixture of Russian and US-based social networks are popular in the country. Russian networks Moy Mir, Vkontakte, and Odnoklassniki are the sites with the largest usership. Facebook is fourth at 97,400 users but is the fastest growing social network in the country.
Kyrgyzstan’s state-run telecom controls 60 percent of the ICT market. ICT infrastructure is generally underdeveloped, making reliable Internet access difficult to find in rural areas. The lack of well-developed ICT infrastructure has meant that only a small portion of the population can regularly use the Internet. In 2011, a USAID survey found that 51 percent of Internet users were located in the capital, with only five percent of rural residents reporting that they used the Internet. High poverty rates in rural areas of the country may also contribute to the lack of users in those areas, as even where access is available, it can be prohibitively expensive. Cyber cafes are popular throughout the country, and two of the largest telecom companies offer 3G networks all over the country, however low numbers of individuals actually report using their phones to access the internet.
Information restrictions in the country eased considerably following the overthrow of President Kurmanbek Bakiev in April 2010, but government regulation of online content remains an issue. Freedom of speech as well as the freedom to access and distribute information are protected by the country's constitution. However, information can be blocked if the government believes it might spark national strife or incite violence. This was the case for the Central Asian news site Ferghana.ru, the only reported site against which the government implemented a block in 2012. Even in this case, however, the government’s block was limited in its effectiveness. While all ISPs were technically required to block the site, as of April 2012 only the state-run telecom did. Ferghana also fought the block, arguing that Parliament did not have the authority to take down the site, and eventually won—access was restored in April 2013.
Use of the Internet varies widely based on age and occupation. Kyrgyzstan does not have a particularly well-developed blogosphere. According to Freedom House, most of the blogs in the country are for entertainment purposes or are private journals. Many of the more popular blogs are also written in Russian rather than in Kyrgyz. A mixture of Russian and US-based social networks are popular in the country. Russian networks Moy Mir, Vkontakte, and Odnoklassniki are the sites with the largest usership. Facebook is fourth at 97,400 users but is the fastest growing social network in the country.