In a report released at a news conference in Dushanbe,  Muzaffar Nematov, director general of Tojiktelecom (state-owned telecommunications company), revealed on February 2 that the Unified Electronic Communications Switching Center still operates the Soviet-era equipment.

Nematov refrained from giving the amount spent for establishment of the Unified Electronic Communications Switching Center, which is known by its Russian abbreviation.  He just said that the figures would be given after final calculation.

Jonibek Dadomatov, the head of the department for communications regulation at the Communications Service under the Government of Tajikistan, noted that “full-fledged functioning of Center has not yet been arranged.”

“All expenses on the establishment of the Unified Electronic Communications Switching Center will be published only after it begins full-fledged operations.” Dadomatov added.   

Meanwhile, according to Kazakhstan-based telecommunications news website DigitalReport, EKTs costs at least $50 million to install.

On January 1, 2017, the cost of one minute of call rerouted through the Unified Electronic Communications Switching Center increased from 11 to 15 dirams (a 36 percent increase). 

“Fees for services rendered by the Unified Electronic Communications Switching Center to the mobile phone operators have been set in order to cover expenses on delivery and installation of the high-priced equipment,” an official source at the Antimonopoly Agency under the Government of Tajikistan told Asia-Plus in an interview on January 26.  “Besides, part of funds will be spent to maintain the Center activity.”

Recall, mobile phone operators in Tajikistan had to increase the cost of outgoing calls to Russia by 20 percent, up to 1.20 somoni per minute on January 20, 2017.  The price reportedly increase came by order of the antimonopoly service. 

Mobile phone companies have noted on their official websites that the additional cost has been incurred by the fact that calls are now rerouted through the Unified Electronic Communications Switching Center, a network gateway run by Tojiktelecom, which is in turn owned by the communications service  agency.

The Tajik authorities established the Unified Electronic Communications Switching Center, which is known by its Russian abbreviation EKTs, last year and required that all Internet and mobile communications traffic be run through the single state-owned telecoms provider Tojiktelecom.  The Center centralizes all telephone and Internet communications with the aim of facilitating surveillance on the grounds of combatting terrorism and extremism.  It allows the government to have complete control over domestic communications without any safeguards.

The idea of creating a government-administered information gateway has been circulating since 2005.  The stated aim of the recurring initiative has been to prevent “illegal” communications that could undermine national security.