Page last updated on January 28, 2014

Telephones - main lines in use:
1.963 million (2012)
country comparison to the world: 60
[see also: Telephones - main lines in use country ranks ]

Telephones - mobile cellular:
20.274 million (2012)
country comparison to the world: 48
[see also: Telephones - mobile cellular country ranks ]

Telephone system:
general assessment: digital exchanges in large cities and in rural areas
domestic: the state-owned telecommunications company, Uzbektelecom, owner of the fixed line telecommunications system, has used loans from the Japanese government and the China Development Bank to upgrade fixed-line services including conversion to digital exchanges; mobile-cellular services are growing rapidly, with the subscriber base reaching 25 million in 2011
international: country code - 998; linked by fiber-optic cable or microwave radio relay with CIS member states and to other countries by leased connection via the Moscow international gateway switch; after the completion of the Uzbek link to the Trans-Asia-Europe (TAE) fiber-optic cable, Uzbekistan plans to establish a fiber-optic connection to Afghanistan (2009)

Broadcast media:
government controls media; 11 state-owned broadcasters - 7 TV and 4 radio - provide service to virtually the entire country; about 20 privately owned TV stations, overseen by local officials, broadcast to local markets; privately owned TV stations are required to lease transmitters from the government-owned Republic TV and Radio Industry Corporation; about 15 privately owned radio broadcasters are affiliated with the National Association of Electronic Mass Media of Uzbekistan, a government sponsored NGO for private broadcast media

Internet country code:
.uz

Internet hosts:
56,075 (2012)
country comparison to the world: 94
[see also: Internet hosts country ranks ]

Internet users:
4.689 million (2009)
country comparison to the world: 50
[see also: Internet users country ranks ]