Regulations, Costs, and Access Issues Leave Rural Kazakhstan Offline

The absence of Internet in many of Kazakhstan’s villages is not due to several barriers, claims the Kazakhstan Association of Telecom Operators, Orda.kz reports.

Speaking at a Senate plenary session, Association President Oleg Yemelyanov said there are still many rural areas where it’s simply impossible to provide access.

Even in places where large operators have already laid lines under the public-private partnership (PPP) program, small providers often face obstacles.

Either they don't provide access, or they provide access at prices that make work in villages unprofitable. It's absolutely economically unprofitable. To build your own highway separately is a lot of money, it will never pay off in life. 

Distributing the Internet within the settlement also poses financial hurdles. Fiber optic lines or micro-sewerage are options, but as Yemelyanov noted, they are rarely cost-effective.

Using sewerage and micro-sewage in villages is also often unprofitable. Here, I think, the loan from the World Bank will be directed to support SMEs, and 50% of capital costs will be subsidized under it.

The simplest method — hanging cables on existing light or power poles — is also running into bureaucratic resistance.

Yemelyanov cited an example from the Qaraganda region:

In the Qaraganda region there is a city called Abay, where if an operator has somehow displeased the Akimat, the akimat demands that the wires be removed from the supports. The operator invested money, connected subscribers, and here is the situation. The Akimat says that the contract will be terminated, and the operators are left out. 

He concluded by emphasizing that small providers are not asking for privileges — only clear rules and predictability.

Original Author: Zhadra Zhulmukhametova