huridocs-tech Turkmenistan: Licenses of all private Providers revoked

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## author     : alamar@irex.org
## date       : 30.05.00
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RFE/RL TURKMEN REPORT  May 21-27, 2000

HUMAN RIGHTS AND POLITICAL NEWS

Turkmenistan Revokes Licenses Of All Private Internet
Providers

May 27, 2000

The Turkmen Ministry of Communication will revoke on May 29
licenses of all private Internet and electronic mail
providers in the country.

According to an official statement, documents of the
companies that applied for extension of their licenses had
numerous faults.

The government's action leaves Turkmentelekom, a company
under the Ministry of Communication, as the only Internet
provider in Turkmenistan. (RFE/RL - Interfax)

---------------------------------------------

TURKMENISTAN

PRESS RELEASE: Dashkhovuz Ecological Guardians and Catena Ecological
Club, May 29, 2000

Several days ago, the Turkmenistan Ministry of Communications
rescinded the licenses of all private electronic (e-mail and
Internet) service providers.  Thus, an affiliate of the Turkmenistan
Ministry of Communications (Turkmentelecom) is soon to become the
sole and monopolistic electronic media provider in Turkmenistan.
Several hundred users, including foreign embassies, business, the US
Peace Corps, other USAID agencies, OSCE, and others are now about to
lose their connections to e-mail and Internet.

The process through which this revocation of licenses occurred is
shocking.  Providers were issued an ultimatum to hand over their
licenses within three days.  The grounds for this revocation appear
fabricated: alleged violations, but no specific examples of
violations.  The decision to revoke the licenses is not subject to
any kind of appeals process within the ministryor through a court of
law. The Ministry of Communication is simply unconcerned with the
moral and financial losses incurred by the providers or their
numerous clients who rely on a steady and reliable Internet
connection.

Concurrently, Turkmentelecom has rolled out an advertising campaign
for its Internet services and a general price cut of 40% on its
tariffs.  From this, it is easy to conclude that the driving impulse
for the revocation of private licenses was no sort of violation of
the law by private parties or any sort of authoritarian desire to
control the flow of information, but, rather, simple business
competition.

In an honest competitive atmosphere, Turkmentelecom would likely be
a loser, notwithstanding its immense technical and financial
resources.  Right now, Turkmentelecom has only about 100 clients,
while its principal competitor, Ariana Ltd., has more than 300.  The
reason why Turkmentelecom would continue to be a loser is very
simple-- it offers a fantastically user-non-friendly service.  Of
course, deprived of real competitors, one cannot expect that
Turkmentelecom will improve its service; moreover its promised lower
rates will probably be fleeting.

There are stories of clients calling Turkmentelecom for customer
service, and in response to their "I have a question," being told
"That's your problem" and being hung up on. The billing system is
also not loved by clients.  One client, on examining his bill, found
that he had been charged on one day for 51 hours of use!  The cost
of Internet service, even after the promised price reductions, is
too high for most people and business in Turkmenistan.  No special
rates are offered for educational or nonprofit organizations, while
Ariana has been offering free e-mail to NGOs (which is a singular
phenomenon in the former USSR).

The nationalization of the Turkmenistan Internet has already begun
drawingattention in other parts of the world.  Unfortunately, many
commentators are prone to see in this event something of political
significance.  We may not say that there are no politics behind this
decisions, but we do know that the decision was made without the
knowledge of the President, and with hope that the President would
subsequently approve the decision.

Accordingly, we believe sincerely that the world community could
delicately explain to President Niyazov the reasons why this
decision is a poor one and fraught with inevitable poor consequences
for the economy, cultural life, and international standing of
Turkmenistan.  Pursued intelligently, such an explanation could
convince the President to nullify the ministry's decision and force
it to place by the rules of the market.





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