As part of the VI Digital Forum Digital Almaty 2024: “Industry X: Digital Evolution of the Future,” a panel session on the topic “Quality of Communication and Tariff Increases” took place on February 2.
The panel session began with discussions about the “250+” project, in which mobile operators created infrastructure for high-speed mobile internet access in villages with populations of 250 or more, the Ministry of Digital Development, Innovations, and Aerospace Industry of Kazakhstan reported.
“Last year, a strategic document was approved – the National Project ‘Accessible Internet,’ aimed at developing the telecommunications industry. Within this project, access to optical internet is planned for 3000 villages. We are implementing a subsidy program called ‘Last Mile’ in collaboration with the World Bank, covering small and medium-sized operators. There is also a task to provide communication infrastructure for regional and republican roads. The task of deploying 3,500 base stations by 2027 has been accelerated by the Head of State’s instruction to 2025,” said Erzhan Meiramov, Chairman of the Committee on Telecommunications of Kazakhstan.
The participants then discussed key aspects of 5G technology and its implementation perspectives. In many countries where 5G is implemented, there is a trend of rising prices for communication services, and Kazakhstan is no exception.
“Since mid-2022, all mobile operators have been increasing prices for communication services. Monitoring results show an average increase of 7 to 57 percent for communication service plans,” said Bolat Sambetov, Deputy Chairman of the Agency for Protection and Development of Competition. “We receive many complaints about unjustified increases, and we take appropriate measures. It is important to note that, until 2017, prices were regulated by the state, after which they are in free float. We have already submitted five price notifications, and some entities have reduced their tariffs,” Sambetov said.
