Internet access on the rise in Kazakhstan
"Internet connectivity has recently increased by more than 70% in Kazakhstan. As for mobile penetration, it has exceeded the mark of 160%," Mr. Zhumagaliyev said at the Council of Heads of the Regional Commonwealth in the Field of Communications in Astana. He also added that installation of telephone service in rural areas of the country helped develop fibre-optic infrastructure in Kazakhstan and provide residential Internet access in remote populated localities. "This project [in remote areas] will take at least three years to complete," Zhumagaliyev said in conclusion. First Vice Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Bakytzhan Sagintayev, chairman of the Kazakh Agency for Communication and Information Askar Zhumagaliyev, Minister of Communications and Mass Media of Russia Nikolai Nikiforov, as well as experts from China, Great Britain, South Korea, Poland, Turkey and CIS member states participate in the joint sitting of the 49th Council of Heads of the Regional Commonwealth in the Field of Communications in Astana.