Communication (Uzbekistan market)

Cellular communications (Uzbekistan market)

Main article: Cellular communications (Uzbekistan market)

History

2024: Telecom market growth by 18.6% to 20.92 trillion soums

In 2024, expenses on the telecommunications market of Uzbekistan amounted to 20.92 trillion soums ($1.65 billion at the exchange rate as of July 1, 2025). This is 18.6% more than the previous year, when the volume of the industry was estimated at 17.64 trillion soums. Such data are provided in the Nexign study, the results of which TAdviser got acquainted with in early July 2025.

The review notes that since 2020, when expenses were at the level of 10.23 trillion soums, the size of the telecom market in Uzbekistan has doubled. At the same time, for five years, the revenue of operators in the country grew by an average of 20% per year. However, in 2024, the pace of expansion of the sector decreased: this is due to the saturation of the market with basic telecom services and a slowdown in the increase in revenue from traditional services. The main drivers of the industry are the digitalization of the economy, the development of telecom infrastructure and an increase in demand for IT services from citizens and businesses.

Penetration Internet in the household segment Uzbekistan continues to increase: in 2024, 93.3% of the population had access to the Network against 89% a year earlier. The market BROADBAND ACCESS in the country is monopolized: the state-owned company "" Uzbectelecom is the leader in the home Internet segment with a share of 83%, so most infrastructure projects are carried out by one player with support. states

The number of mobile subscribers in the country in 2024 reached 36.3 million, which corresponds to an increase of 6% on an annualized basis. In this sector, a high level of competition is recorded. Operators are striving to get ahead of each other in the implementation of advanced services and innovative services.

The country is implementing the Uzbekistan 2030 strategy, one of the main goals of which is to transform into a regional IT hub through the development of digital technologies. To do this, operators need to provide the Internet to all settlements of Uzbekistan and increase the speed of access by 10 times. The coverage of optical fiber communication lines and broadband broadband access should be brought to 100%, and all highways of the trunk value should be provided with mobile Internet.

Active expansion of 5G infrastructure continues. In particular, Fixed Wireless Access (FWA) services based on 5G are developing. This technology allows you to organize a broadband Internet connection through a cellular network. In Uzbekistan, more than half of the population lives in villages and in hard-to-reach areas. At the same time, the terrain of the country is mainly flat, which allows the signal from base stations to be freely distributed over long distances. As a result, the demand for 5G FWA services is increasing.

The largest player in the telecom market of Uzbekistan is Uzbectelecom""Uztelecom (Uzmobile/) with revenue of 7.85 trillion soums ($0.62 billion) in 2023. In second place is with Coscom (Ucell) 3.82 trillion soums ($0.3 billion), and closes the top three Unitel (Beeline brand) with 3.15 trillion soums ($0.25 billion). Next comes Universal Mobile Systems UMS (MobiUz) with 1.78 trillion soums ($0.14 billion). On the fifth line, it is located Humans with revenue at 515.4 billion soums ($41 million).

A lot of attention in the country is paid to artificial intelligence. By the end of 2024, more than 20 AI-based projects were introduced in Uzbekistan, and another 70 such initiatives were developed for individual industries and large enterprises. Among the priority areas for the use of AI are banking and tax spheres, medicine, agriculture and power. Telecom operators are conducting AI projects, exploring the possibilities of using the technology in the telecommunications field.^[1]

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