Kyrgyzstan has nationalised access to international internet traffic for one year in a surprise move by what was long seen as the most democratic country in the region.
The mountainous former Soviet republic relies upon its neighbours such as Russia, Kazakhstan and China, for internet access.
The presidential decree released on Monday is “establishing a temporary 100-percent state monopoly on the supply and provision of international internet traffic on the territory of the Kyrgyz Republic.”
The monopoly will be in place from August 15 to August 14, 2026. It was not clear from the decree whether it can be extended.
No explanation or details were given by the officials, including by Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov, whose decree only says it was needed for “creating conditions for further improvement of digital transformation.”
Telecom operators will have to transfer an “exclusive right to provide international internet traffic” entering Kyrgyzstan to the state-run firm Elkat within two months, according to the decree.
Three operators confirmed to AFP on Tuesday that Elkat would become the sole internet provider, but said that nothing would change for their customers.
According to the International Telecommunication Union, a UN agency, a state monopoly in internet providers is relatively rare and is only common in authoritarian regimes.
bk-asy/mmp/rl
© Agence France-Presse
