Telecom Operators Will Be Required to Share Customer Data With State Statistical Agencies

The Senate has approved a law amending the system of state support for innovation and the work of official statistics, Orda.kz reports.

One of the key changes is that mobile operators and internet providers will now be required to share information about their clients with state statistical agencies. The data will be anonymized — without names or personal details.

Maksat Turlybaev, head of the National Statistics Bureau, explained that current official statistics often diverge significantly from reality:

According to the National Security Committee Customs Service, 7.1 million tourists entered the country by the end of 2024. But entrepreneurs’ reports show only 1.3 million. That means more than five million tourists are left out of the statistics. We studied global practice, and telecom operator data is used worldwide. These figures are very accurate and show the number of tourists precisely. For example, in the first quarter of 2024, official data showed 294,000 domestic tourists arriving in Astana. According to telecom operators, the number was 542,000. We believe this information is necessary.

Turlybaev emphasized that this requirement will not result in additional expenses for telecom companies, as they already transmit similar data to the National Security Committee.

Original Author: Zhadra Zhulmukhametova