Dialling Out in Turkmenistan

When Turkmen president Gurbanguly Berdymuhammedov laid into the state-run phone and internet provider last week, no one was sure whether he really wanted improvements in the level of service, or more comprehensive surveillance of users.

Speaking at a cabinet meeting on August 8, Berdymuhammedov Berdymuhammedov said mobile and web services were poor and limited. With demand expanding, he said, new high-tech technologies should be put in place.

Since December 2010, when Russia’s MTS firm was squeezed out of Turkmenistan, mobile phone users have had only one choice, the state firm Altyn Asyr.

In June, Berdymuhammedov took Altyn Asyr to task for the quality of service it provides, and said he would be holding telecoms minister Ovlaguly Jumagulyev personally responsible.

Even buying a SIM card is a complex business, involving hours of queuing. Customers have to provide their passport details and are recorded in a special log.

They cannot buy two SIM cards, meaning they must choose between having a mobile phone and a USB flash modem, which many use to access the web.

A local engineer said the security services tapped phone lines and kept tabs on users.

"Altyn Asyr [mobilie connections] are monitored thoroughly, as are home phones," he said. "The intelligence agencies want to constantly update the information they have on subscribers."

The power of mobile communications even in a closed state like Turkmenistan was demonstrated recently when local people ensured that pictures and information about a devastating explosion in the town of Abadan were uploaded to the web and seen across the world. (For more on this, see Web Users Evade Controls To Report Turkmen Blast.)

Some commentators argue that the authorities are concened that information could leak out so easily, and that they plan to close off these channels of information rather than improve services (See also Internet Paranoia in Turkmenistan.)

"This criticism came after residents passed on information by mobile phone, so I guess communication will now get even worse," one Abadan resident predicted.

This article was produced as part of IWPR's News Briefing Central Asia output, funded by the National Endowment for Democracy.