Oshno-Group is reportedly monopolizing the provision of wireless internet services in Tajikistan.
Beg Sabur on April 11 ordered an inspection of Wi-Fi spots in all public locations, including shopping centers and cafes. The checks were motivated by a desire to promote public wellbeing.
On April 22, the Communications Service under the Government of Tajikistan without any explanation sealed the offices of Tajik Academician Research and Educational Network Association, or TARENA, an entity responsible for supplying connections to all the country’s universities.
The Tajik Academic, Research and Educational Network Users Association was set up in 2002 in the framework of an agreement between Tajikistan and the European Union. The TARENA-supplied internet halls in universities are often one of the few ways in which students, many of whom do not own their own computers and laptops, are able to check email and do online research free of charge. Researchers formerly plugged into international academic databases are now likewise bereft of those resources.
But universities in the capital have these past few days been seeing the installation of Wi-Fi terminals covering a radius of 30 meters, according to EurasiaNet.org. A 100-megabyte package costs 1 somoni (around $0.10), which is much cheaper than other commercial providers but not free and often barely affordable by cash-strapped students.
RFE/RL’s Tajik Service, locally known as Radio Ozodi, reported on May 17 that the terminals are now operated by Oshno-Group
One catering outlet in the center of Dushanbe informed EurasiaNet.org that although they still rely on their existing internet service provider, all such businesses are being told they will soon have to source their internet from one company. And that company would presumably also be Oshno-Group.
