BAKU, Azerbaijan, Sept. 2
By Klavdiya Romakayeva - Trend:
It is planned to increase the share of the digital economy in the country's GDP by two times by 2023 and increase the volume of services in this area by three times, bringing exports to $100 million, Trend reports referring to the Ministry for the Development of Information Technologies and Communications of Uzbekistan.
“Development of the digital economy requires an advanced telecommunication infrastructure. The implementation of the policy in the field of the digital economy requires, first of all, the creation of a full-fledged virtual economic space capable of meeting the demands of consumers of digital services,” says Minister for the Development of Information Technologies and Communications, Shukhrat Sadikov.
Last year, during the development of telecommunications infrastructure in Uzbekistan, 490,000 broadband access ports were installed, bringing the total number of subscriber access ports to 2.5 million units.
Additionally, about 9,000 kilometers of fiber-optic lines have been laid, including an additional improvement of the overall telecommunication infrastructure in all regions of the country.
“Consistent work is being carried out in the field of increasing the availability of mobile communications and the quality of mobile services. This year alone, 1,375 base stations of mobile communications were installed, and thus their total number in Uzbekistan was brought to 27,400,” emphasized Shukhrat Sadikov.
Currently, the mobile coverage in Uzbekistan has reached 97 percent, including 78 percent of subscribers using mobile broadband services.
To further develop the telecom infrastructure, this year the task was set to introduce at least 800,000 broadband Internet ports and lay 12,000 kilometers of fiber-optic communication lines.
Large-scale work is being carried out to increase the availability of mobile services. Within two years, about 4,400 new base stations of mobile communications will be installed in the regions of Uzbekistan.
“The mobile Internet coverage of the country will be increased to 85 percent. Thus, the most important task of eliminating the digital divide between the city and the region will be further reduced,” noted Shukhrat Sadikov.
