Image by Flickr user Leeks (CC-usage).

Editor’s note: This is the latest post in neweurasia’s ongoing coverage of the rise of the “Turkmenet”, the online community in the Turkmen language, as well as fourth on the rise of the mobile internet across Central Asia.  Check out Annasoltan’s previous posts on the mobile internet in Turkmenistan and Pravdin’s post on the mobile internet in Uzbekistan.

Since last year I’ve been reporting on how Turkmenistan is lifting the curtain on the internet.  Well, people are now lining up at the stores for 3G, which was authorized for distribution this past month. This could be a really interesting moment for my country because the 3G network is in use over a 100 countries.  This could be one of those moments when globalization measurably pierces through my country’s self-imposed hermitage.

I should acknowledge that bloggers decry 3G as just banal liberalization (which my neweurasia colleague Averroes in particular feels is as morally empty as the communism it has replaced).  But in my country, anything that opens Turkmen society to the world is downright revolutionary.

This is visible progress.  This is good news for us.

That’s what a young Turkmen said to me about what 3G meant to him.  Digital media is fast becoming a part of the next generation’s daily life.  How can’t that be a good thing?  The critics are wrong.  Instead, the real question they should be asking for Turkmenistan is whether this nascent revolution can really last.

Bureaucracy.net

Much of what’s been in the Turkmenet has been about the bureaucratic hurdles put up against those trying to sign up for 3G.  Evidently who is allowed to apply is determined by residency, supposedly because there is too much demand and limited supply. Right now it appears access is limited to only residents of Ashgabat.  People outside of Ashgabat have rushed to mobile phone centers only to return empty-handed.  Several have tried to get around the restriction by asking friends and relatives in the capitol to sign up on their behalf.

I’m worried something else may be going on.  Keep in mind that the very same technology that brings new freedoms can also be used for new tyrannies.  But that would be the obvious thing for the Berdimuhammedov regime to do, not to mention it would invite more criticism from the West, whom they’re trying to court.  Instead, I think the government is going to do something more subtle and devious, something that would give them the appearance of liberalization yet still accomplish their totalitarian aims: favoring one internet service provider over another.

Monopolies aren’t just for capitalists

Photograph of Altyn Asyr's headquarters courtesy of RFE/RL.

The Russian-owned company Mobile TeleSystems (MTS) is the largest mobile phone operator in Russia and the CIS.  It has enjoyed a reputation for quick customer service, decent internet speeds, and reasonable subscription packages.  TM Cell or Altyn Asyr (Golden Age), on the other hand, which is a subsidiary of the state-owned telecommunications company Turkmen Telecom, has been known for its inferior services and slow speeds.  Just about the only thing in its favor is that its cheaper.

So, it was surprising when it was announced that 3G would be distributed via Altyn Asyr and not MTS.  MTS had been applying for  3G distribution rights but so far the Turkmen government has demurred from giving them the license.  Meanwhile, MTS has been providing 3G to customers in Uzbekistan since last year.  So, many in Turkmenistan who favor MTS over Altyn Asyr hope that eventually the government gives into pressure, if for no other reason than to maintain a competitive and sound business environment.

Meanwhile, several websites that are available through MTS are blocked through Altyn Asyr.   It comes as no shock that these websites are discussion forums and opposition groups critical of the government (or just generally not praising it all the time).  MTS has insisted that it is not responsible for their users’ actions, they merely provide a service.  So, you don’t need to be a genius to understand what’s going on.

Internet freedom is a human right

This is not like swapping one car for another; this is about a basic right of human beings to be informed.  The Turkmen government is trying to lure its citizens into behaviors it prefers by dangling the carrot of freedom and connection with the outside world.

Not only that, but as the Americans say, the regime is trying to have its cake and eat it, too: Berdimuhammedov and company want to be part of the world but only on their terms.   A Turkmen friend recently remarked to me,

Turkmenistan has been held back for 20 years during Niyazov’s paranoic rule. The current authorities understand that  keeping the country completely isolated from the outside world is regressive and that it hurts not only us but them, too.

A Turkmen information technology expert agreed, remarking,

The control thing  maybe actually the true reason why TM Cell won the 3G tender. MTS is a foreign company and it operates in its own ways and can be less constrained in its operations and services.

The good news is that at least finally 3G has arrived in Turkmenistan. I’m happy for those who can use it.