Abdulla Aripov: Uzbekistan plans to increase the number of mobile network subscribers to 20-23 million

The moderator of the forum, professor of the Skolkovo Institute of Science and Technology Ivan Oseledets, addressing the Prime Minister, stated that all his friends, when talking about Uzbekistan, say it is a country where there are no social networks and where one can “take a break from digital civilization.”

“People who have never been to Uzbekistan say such nonsense. First of all, I should note that our country keeps up to date with modern technologies and is developing. We are also trying to catch up with other developed countries in the sphere of digital technologies,” said Abdulla Aripov.

The Prime Minister of Uzbekistan stated that there is still a difference between countries in providing digital infrastructure. According to the International Telecommunication Union, 40 percent of the world’s population does not have access to the Internet.

“We are faced with the problem of providing digital opportunities to half of the population living in rural areas. I think this problem exists in many countries. To solve it, a presidential program for the development of digital infrastructure in the republic is being implemented.

In particular, until the end of next year, all social facilities in the country, such as schools, kindergartens and hospitals - in total over 20 thousand facilities, will be fully covered with broadband Internet using fiber-optic communication.

It is planned to increase the number of mobile network subscribers to 20-23 million,” Aripov said.

The Prime Minister added that in 2020 a 5G mobile network will be launched in Tashkent, which has been successfully tested in Uzbekistan.

It should be noted that Abdulla Aripov, by profession, is a telecommunication engineer. For a long time he worked in leadership positions in this field.