UZBEKISTAN

Since 2016, Tajikistan requires all ISPs to route international traffic through the state-controlled Single Communications Gateway via EKTs, enabling surveillance and censorship. Fixed-line broadband penetration is effectively zero, with about 6,000 fixed broadband subscriptions nationwide (roughly 0.07% of the population) as of 2025. Mobile internet dominates, with 10.54 million active mobile connections by early 2024 (about 102.9% of the population) and 4G coverage reaching roughly 72% of people by end-2022. Tajiktelecom monopoly on international bandwidth; in 2018 the government deprived ISPs of the right to buy international bandwidth from abroad, forcing purchases from Tajiktelecom at inflated prices, with bandwidth sold

As of early 2024, Turkmenistan had about 2.59 million internet users, roughly 39.5% of the population—the lowest penetration in Central Asia. Turkmenistan’s telecom market is a state monopoly led by Turkmentelecom (Turkmen Telecom), with TM CELL/Altyn Asyr as the sole mobile operator after MTS exited in 2017–2018. There were about 4.34 million mobile subscriptions in early 2024, representing 66% of the population, with 3G introduced in 2010 and 4G LTE in 2013. In 2023 the government set a minimum broadband speed of 1 Mbps and a top tier of 6 Mbps, though real-world speeds are often far lower. The median

Kazakhtelecom accounts for roughly 60% of Kazakhstan’s telecom market by revenue in 2023 and owns major stakes in mobile operators Kcell and Tele2/Altel. Kar-Tel/Beeline Kazakhstan (VEON) holds about 28% market revenue and is a leading mobile and broadband provider. In internet traffic by autonomous networks, Kazakhtelecom is largest at around 26%, Beeline about 20%, Tele2 Kazakhstan about 19%, and Kcell about 9%, indicating a consumer market duopoly. The Digital Kazakhstan program has expanded fiber nationwide, deploying more than 20,000 kilometers of fiber by 2021 and achieving 118 cities and over 4,500 villages with broadband, covering 97.2% of the population. By