Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- During the quarantine period in connection with coronavirus (COVID-19) in Uzbekistan, citizens and users of social networks receive many questions and appeals related to information and communication technologies. Among them, the most common questions and appeals concern the poor quality of Internet services from mobile telecom operators. It is on these issues that detailed explanations are given during briefings organized by the Information and Mass Communications Agency.

It should be noted that over the past two years, serious systematic work has been carried out in the field of information and communication technologies. First of all, the working group of the Ministry visited each region of the republic, got acquainted with the real situation on the spot and the activities of subordinate enterprises and organizations, identified measures to eliminate shortcomings in their work. Most importantly, continuous monitoring of these tasks has been established.

In particular, if we analyze the results of the work done over two years, last year serious work was done to create a coherent modern system for the provision of electronic public services, and to introduce new mechanisms for interaction between government bodies and the public and entrepreneurs.

If we consider this issue in more detail, today in the republic there are 5 mobile operators and more than 30 providers that provide telecommunications services through wired communication systems. All operators and providers jointly and coordinatedly provide services using various technological solutions.

Currently, the number of Internet users has grown to 22 million, including 19 million mobile Internet users. The number of users using Internet services through fixed communication systems is 3 million.

So, the total bandwidth in the international Internet was increased 10 times - from 110 Gb / s. up to 1,200 Gbit / s! Much attention is paid to improving the quality and volume of services, including online services provided by telecommunication operators and providers.

And from 1 January 2020, tariffs for operators and providers for Internet services were reduced by 34 percent compared to the same period of last year, amounting to 56.0 thousand soums. Noteworthy is the fact that the price for Internet services has been reduced in accordance with market requirements.

A single procedure has been organized and uniform prices have been set for connecting to a network for Internet providers in all regions of the republic.

Trunk telecommunications were expanded at 237 facilities in the republic, and telecommunication equipment was modernized. Thus, the capacity of trunk telecommunications in the regions is 200 Gbit / s .., in the regions - 40 Gbit / s.

Also, during the implementation of the project on the construction of fiber-optic communication lines, 10.0 thousand kilometers of fiber-optic lines were erected, and thereby their total length is 36.6 thousand kilometers.

During the implementation of work to expand the coverage of broadband connections by operators and providers, 1 million ports were installed, and thereby the total number of ports for connecting to broadband Internet exceeded 2 million.

In order to develop mobile networks, 6,000 mobile base stations were installed. Thus, their total number exceeded 26 thousand, and the coverage of the population with mobile communications reached 96 percent, and the level of coverage with broadband to the mobile Internet was 70 percent.

In order to make full use of the technical capabilities of mobile base stations in rural areas, the standards of electromagnetic radiation were revised and the base station capacities were increased.

During 2019, the telecommunication network coverage of uninhabited rural settlements was halved.

It should be noted that to date, work has been carried out to expand 2G mobile networks, today all projects envisage the expansion of the coverage of 3G / 4G networks. In particular, this year alone more than 2200 base stations of 3G / 4G were installed and launched.

One fact should be mentioned here. Ookla has published Speedtest.net service data for the monthly Speedtest Global Index for the speed of mobile and wired Internet in the world for March 2020. Uzbekistan showed steady growth in the speed of fixed Internet, adding immediately 7 positions up.

Our country in the overall ranking takes 95th place out of 176 countries, thus rising immediately by 7 positions up within a month, and by 36 positions - within a year.

According to the results of the past year, over the past year, the speed of the fixed Internet in Uzbekistan increased almost 2.3 times from 11.62 Mbit / s in March 2019, to 26.92 Mbit / s in March 2020.

Now let’s look at the work carried out during the quarantine period by the Ministry for the Development of Information Technologies and Communications, as well as telecommunication operators and providers to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

To date, mobile operators have upgraded more than 302 base stations to provide Internet services.

Currently, due to the presence of the population, especially students, at home in populated areas and rural areas there is a high congestion of network nodes. As a result, in some areas there is a decrease in the speed of mobile Internet.

Today, these network nodes have been taken under constant control, and the necessary technical and organizational measures have been taken to ensure reliable operation of the networks.

Since the announcement of quarantine in connection with the coronavirus (COVID-19) in Uzbekistan, all telecommunication operators have provided free access to the websites of educational resources so that students of secondary schools and pupils of preschool educational organizations can freely master school subjects at home.

In order for citizens to keep abreast of all the latest news, telecommunication operators created opportunities for their subscribers to access for free the most readable news Internet resources.

In order to inform the public about coronavirus (COVID-19) and about measures to prevent the spread of coronavirus, free access was provided to the official website - http://coronavirus.uz/ru.

From 16 March, a round-the-clock call center of the Ministry of Health has been operating in Tashkent with a short single number 1003. Since March 16, all telecommunication operators and providers have provided citizens with free access to this number throughout the country to provide objective and reliable information and prompt response to citizens’ questions about coronavirus infection.

In order to create amenities for the population and the ability to quickly and conveniently reach the centers, a single short number 1197 was organized.

All telecommunication operators and providers provided free telephone service to the short number of the call center 1197.

In addition, under quarantine conditions, all telecommunications operators and providers have provided new, more favorable rates and introduced new services in order to create additional amenities for their subscribers. So, JSC “Uzbektelecom” introduced a new and convenient service for paying for Internet services. In particular, from April 1, 2020, the national operator provided a new campaign for its subscribers of the GSM standard network - “Spring Offer”.

UCELL ™ has introduced a new service for remotely connecting subscribers to mobile communications. Starting from 1 April, the company’s cost of Mobile Internet and Internet Transfer services becomes zero, which allows subscribers to freely transfer money and Internet traffic to the mobile balance of their near and dear ones.

In order to create maximum comfort for teachers of educational institutions, JSC "Uzbektelecom" introduced a special tariff plan "Talim" from 10 April. The cost of the Talim tariff plan is 29,900 soums per month, and upon purchase it provides 1,000 minutes, 4,000 megabytes, and 200 SMS.

To connect or switch to the Talim TP, employees of the Ministry of Public Education system must present a passport, certificate (original), or a document confirming that the subscriber is an employee of this system. This tariff plan is available for individuals.

The Beeline company has recently provided new bonuses at the special Shifokor tariff. Medical workers - Beeline subscribers can use 5 thousand minutes of calls and 5 thousand megabytes for free until May 10, 2020.

In connection with the growth in the volume of Internet traffic from users, during the quarantine period, the necessary technical and organizational measures were taken to ensure reliable operation of networks.

We remind you that in the next 2 years a high-speed Internet connection of 12 thousand social facilities will be provided, namely health care, pre-school educational institutions and secondary schools. In 2020 alone, fiber-optic communication lines will be built and high-speed Internet access will be provided for 95 percent of healthcare facilities, 86 percent of secondary schools and all pre-school educational institutions.