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2007 Central Asian - Broadband and Internet MarketsProduct Type: Market Research ReportPublished by: Paul Budde Communication Pty Ltd Published: August 2007 Product Code: R170-889 Description This market report covers eight countries in the Central Asia sub-region. It takes an overall look at the various telecoms markets, together with a particular look at the Internet market segments in each of the following countries: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.
While the countries of Central Asia have struggled with poor telecom infrastructure and underdeveloped regulatory, one segment of the market that has been most adversely affected has been the Internet. With none of these countries having Internet user penetrations higher than 10% at the end of 2006, the race is now on in each of the markets to build increased capacity to access the Internet. Turkmenistan and Tajikistan with Internet user penetrations of less than 1% by end-2006 are the lowest ranked by this measure and certainly have a huge task ahead of them. Right across the sub-region, Internet access has been predominantly provided as a dial-up service. The first signs of higher speed, broadband access services are evident in a number of the markets, but the total broadband subscriber base remains very tiny for the time being and therefore constitutes only a small proportion of the total Internet subscriber base in each country. The rate of expansion of Internet services will no doubt increase on the back of the wider push to improve the overall telecoms capacity and infrastructure in each market. Although the pace is variable across the markets, there is certainly a consistent commitment to developing the national networks. Of course, it is not simply a matter of increased investment in infrastructure. There also needs to be a commitment with regard to regulatory reform. Interestingly, the Internet market has experienced some distinct challenges in Central Asia in this regard, as some of the governments have seen online access as a specific threat to national security and good order of their respective countries. The two lowly penetrated Internet markets, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan, have both been subjected to tight government restrictions and limitations on access, no doubt helping stunt the growth of online activity in both these countries. But they are not the only markets in Central Asia with laws aimed at Internet censorship. Kazakhstan and Georgia, for example, both have restrictive regulations in place that can be invoked as and when the government sees fit. Table of Contents
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