Uzbekistan Communications - 2024

Telephones - fixed lines

total subscriptions: 5,685,854 (2022 est.)

subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 17 (2021 est.)

Telephones - mobile cellular

total subscriptions: 35 million (2021 est.)

subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 100 (2021 est.)

Telecommunication systems

general assessment: Uzbekistan’s telecom markets both wireline and wireless have been playing "catch up" in terms of their development following the country's independence from the former Soviet Union; the government has formally adopted the principles of operating as a market economy, many elements of the old centrally planned economic model remain; this has had the effect of reducing the level of interest from foreign companies and investors in building out the necessary underlying infrastructure, which in turn has constrained the rate of growth in the country’s telecoms sector; the last five years has seen an upswing in prospects for the sector as fiber network roll outs continue beyond the main urban centers, while the mobile market experiences some consolidation for stronger, more efficient competitors; growth is present in the fixed broadband segment with penetration projected to reach 24% by 2027 (a 5-year CAGR of 6.2%); despite the promising signs in the fixed markets, it is the mobile segment that continues to dominate Uzbekistan’s telecoms sector in terms of penetration, revenue, and growth;  there are four major operators providing a modicum of competition; three of the four are government owned entities; the mobile market is expected to reach 100% penetration in 2023 a 50% increase in the last five years (2022)

domestic: fixed-line nearly 17 per 100 persons and mobile-cellular teledensity of 100 per 100 persons (2021)

international: country code - 998; linked by fiber-optic cable or microwave radio relay with CIS member states and to other countries by leased connection via the Moscow international gateway switch; the country also has a link to the Trans-Asia-Europe (TAE) fiber-optic cable; Uzbekistan has supported the national fiber-optic backbone project of Afghanistan since 2008

Broadcast media

the government controls media; 17 state-owned broadcasters - 13 TV and 4 radio - provide service to virtually the entire country; about 20 privately owned TV stations, overseen by local officials, broadcast to local markets; privately owned TV stations are required to lease transmitters from the government-owned Republic TV and Radio Industry Corporation; in 2019, the Uzbek Agency for Press and Information was reorganized into the Agency of Information and Mass Communications and became part of the Uzbek Presidential Administration (2019)

Internet country code

.uz

Internet users

total: 26.18 million (2021 est.)

percent of population: 77% (2021 est.)

Broadband - fixed subscriptions

total: 4,820,009 (2020 est.)

subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 14 (2020 est.)