Broadband competitiveness in Eastern Europe and Central Asia

Prepared for Finland / infoDev / Nokia program on

Creating Sustainable Businesses in the Knowledge Economy

Revised, August 25, 2010

Project implementation plan

Creating Sustainable

Businessesin the Knowledge Economy

1

1 Context

Limited access to broadband connectivity in some countries of the Eastern Europe and Central Asia

(ECA) region limits the ability of small and medium-size enterprises (SMEs) to become fully competitive.

SMEs are typically the most numerous part of private sector in these countries, but they often lack

understanding of broadband and its impact or cannot afford it. Less expensive and higher quality

broadband services, with good international connectivity, could improve SMEs’ prospects for cross-

border trade in new markets and for exploiting the growing business process outsourcing (BPO) and IT-

enabled services (ITES) markets.

This activity will identify opportunities to improve broadband connectivity and promote SME

internationalization and competitiveness in the target countries across the ECA region through (1) policy

and regulatory reforms and capacity building, and (2) strategic regional connectivity programs.

This activity will be coordinated with other tracks of the ECA activities that are part of the larger Creating

Sustainable Businesses in the Knowledge Economy program. Key related activities are on mobile applications

(ECA 1a), mobile social networking (ECA 1b) and on technology entrepreneurship and business

incubation at the country level (ECA 2) and the regional level (ECA 3). The overall program will cover

three sub-regions: Western Commonwealth of Independent State (CIS) (Belarus, Moldova, and Ukraine);

South Caucasus (Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia) and Central Asia (Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan,

Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan).

1.1 Status of broadband in the ECA region

Some countries in the region are among the highest penetrated broadband markets in the world. For

example, Estonia has a total fixed and mobile broadband market penetration of 57 percent while Croatia

is at 52 percent.1 Equally, Romania and Latvia are in the top five countries worldwide for average

broadband connectivity speeds, outshining the US and most OECD countries.2 However, countries in the

Western CIS, the South Caucasus, and especially Central Asia generally lag (Figure 1).

Figure 1: Broadband subscribers per capita

1.2 The possible impact of improved connectivity

Broadband is widely recognized as a critical enabler of economic activity. In its IC4D 2009 report, the

World Bank reported that in low- and middle-income countries, every 10 percentage-point increase in

0%

4%

8%

12%

16%

20%A

rmen

ia

Georg

ia

Ru

ssia

Mold

ova

Bela

rus

Ka

za

kh

sta

n

Uk

rain

e

Ta

jikista

n

Uzb

ek

istan

Kyrg

yzsta

n

Azerb

aija

n

Tu

rkm

en

istan

Fixed broadband

Mobile broadband

2

broadband penetration accelerates economic growth by 1.38 percentage points—more than in high-

income countries and more than for other telecommunications services.3

In a similar study, McKinsey & Company estimates that “a 10 percent increase in broadband household

penetration delivers a boost to a country’s GDP that ranges from 0.1 percent to 1.4 percent.”4 Booz &

Company found that “10 percent higher broadband penetration in a specific year is correlated to 1.5

percent greater labor productivity growth over the following five years.” Booz also suggests, “Countries

in the top tier of broadband penetration have exhibited 2 percent higher GDP growth than countries in

the bottom tier.”5

Consequently, the lag among countries in Western CIS, the South Caucasus, and Central Asia equates to

lost economic and social development opportunities in terms of private investment, job creation, and

service exports. The task team estimates that if all CIS countries could grow their broadband markets to

cover 50 percent of the population (fixed plus mobile), the overall positive impact on GDP growth could

be up to US$1 trillion up to 2015.

1.3 The bottlenecks and possible responses

A key constraint to the development of broadband connectivity in many ECA countries is the lack of

competition in regional backbone networks. For example, it is clear that countries in the region with

limited access to regional and international telecommunications networks lag in e-readiness (Table 1).

Table 1: International connectivity and impact on e-readiness6

Country International

carriers7

Market penetration (as % of population) eGovernment

development

ranking (of 183)8 Fixed

broadband9

Mobile

broadband10

Internet users

(2008)11

Armenia 3 1.4% 17.3% 6.2% 110

Azerbaijan 5 0.5% 0.7% 28.2% 83

Belarus 4 6.5% 2.1% 32.1% 64

Georgia 6 4.2% 13.0% 23.8% 100

Kazakhstan 4 7.7% 0.0% 10.9% 46

Kyrgyzstan 2 1.3% 0.3% 16.1% 91

Moldova 6 6.0% 5.1% 23.4% 80

Russia 23 8.6% 4.6% 31.9% 59

Tajikistan 2 0.0% 4.1% 8.8% 122

Turkmenistan 1 0.0% 0.0% 1.5% 130

Ukraine 17 4.5% 2.2% 10.5% 54

Uzbekistan 3 0.2% 2.3% 9.0% 87

Estonia 11 28.9% 27.9% 66% 20

Croatia 9 16.1% 36.1% 50% 35

Specifically, improvements in regional connectivity are held back by two complementary factors:

(1) Limited competition in the regional connectivity backbone market. Generally speaking, most of the

international networks in the Republics of the former Soviet Union are still structured around

monopolistic international gateways and network architectures that are routed via Moscow.

There is a lack of alternative routings or viable competitors (an overview of regional connectivity

is provided in Annex A).

3

(2) Policy or regulatory impediments to the development of broadband markets within these countries. There

may be barriers to entry for fixed-line infrastructure providers, slow licensing of wireless

broadband services (e.g., 3G mobile, WiMAX etc), impediments to the creation of domestic

backbone networks, or other constraints on competitive service provision. For example, these

countries have been slow to adopt WiMAX and 3G mobile and have not yet started on long-term

evolution LTE—almost half of these networks are in the initial stages of implementation (Annex

B). Slow development of retail broadband markets chills investment in international connectivity,

and vice versa.

It is thus important to identify mechanisms—through both policy initiatives and investments— to

improve these countries’ ability to access international and regional telecommunications capacity. This, in

turn, will reduce the cost and improve the quality of downstream connectivity services, i.e. broadband

services within these countries. In other words, interventions in the bandwidth wholesale market, where

competitiveness is often constrained, can have a beneficial effect in the broadband retail market,

especially for SMEs. The recent experience of Moldova, which de-monopolized its cross-border

connectivity market in April 2010, is instructive in this regard (Box A).

Further, policy measures could include developing locally relevant applications (mobile applications

development in ECA is targeted in another component of the larger program), providing incentives for

investment in ICT and Web-based services and to businesses in the ICT industry (such as software

developers). These measures could all support a more rapid uptake of broadband among SMEs, allowing

them to connect to human resources, knowledge, and new markets.

The Broadband Competitiveness in ECA activity, a component of the Creating Sustainable Businesses

program, aims to understand the potential for improved regional connectivity, to create the foundations

Box A: Impact of improved access to international connectivity: The case of Moldova

Until April 2010, Moldova’s international connectivity market was entirely controlled by state-owned

incumbent Moldtelecom. Due to this and because it is a landlocked country, Moldova’s private firms

did not have direct access to the Internet. At that time, the Government reformed policy and

procedures to open the market to competition. By July 2010, three companies, mobile telephony

provider Orange and Internet service providers Starnet and Norma, successfully applied to construct

and operate cross border fiber optic cables and gain direct access to carriers via Romania.

The benefit of liberalization on availability, prices, and quality was immediate. International Internet

bandwidth available in Moldova went from 13 Gbps in December 2009 to over 50 Gbps in July 2010.

In response, Moldtelecom dropped the prices for wholesale connectivity by a third over that same

time, with some of this drop coming in anticipation of the liberalization in late 2009. And retail

subscribers in some parts of the country have already seen their available bandwidth double while

subscription rates have remained the same.

As a country looking to establish its position as an ICT hub in Eurasia, this move marks the first step

towards connecting Moldova’s fledging IT based services to global markets. Improved connectivity

will allow SMEs to connect with new markets at lower prices and enhance their competitiveness.

Source: World Bank analysis, TeleGeography Global Bandwidth Research Service data for 2009

4

to address this gap, and to develop capacity-building programs that will engage local policy-makers and

regulators as well as SMEs.

2 Objectives of this activity

This activity will identify opportunities to improve broadband connectivity in the target countries across

the ECA region. The activity will aim to improve international and regional connectivity by (1) identifying

opportunities and supporting relevant policy and regulatory reforms, including capacity building, to enhance

competition in the supply of cross-border broadband connectivity, and (2) identifying and supporting the design of

strategic infrastructure programs. Improved connectivity should promote SME internationalization and

competitiveness.

The activity aims to achieve this objective in three ways:

(1) Identify and support governments in designing regional connectivity programs that increase

competition in the supply of cross-border connectivity in Western CIS, South Caucasus, and the

Central Asian Republics;

(2) Identify enabling local policy and regulatory interventions to ensure the translation of benefits

from improved cross-border connectivity to the retail market; and

(3) Support policymakers and regulators in the region in implementing these programs and

interventions by providing regulatory technical assistance (TA) and capacity building.

The key counterparts for this activity will be the line ministries and regulatory agencies responsible for

the ICT sector in the target countries. The work done as part of this activity will tie in with ongoing Bank

operations in Armenia and Moldova. It will also complement the work being done by the European Bank

for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) under the Wider Europe Initiative (WIDER) and initiatives

such as the proposed Trans-Eurasian Information Super Highway for Eastern Europe, Central Asia, and

the South Caucasus, led by Azerbaijan.

The first phase of this activity (ECA-4) will focus on the South Caucasus. Later phases would target the

countries of Central Asia and possibly Western CIS.

2.1 Deliverables of the activity

(1) Identify at least three regional connectivity programs that would have a major impact in

increasing supply, stimulating demand, and reducing the cost of cross-border broadband

communications in consultation with key stakeholders;

(2) Support the implementation of one of these identified programs, including design of investment

mechanisms;

(3) Provide technical assistance to ICT policymakers and regulators involved in the identified

program to create an enabling environment for broadband market development; and

(4) Set up a regional initiative to provide sustainable ICT policy and regulatory capacity building

support.

2.2 Proposed performance indicators

Indicator Baseline value

(2010)

Target value

(2012)

Number of countries participating in regional connectivity programs 0 3

Retail price of internet services in the participating countries (per 1 $5112 Lower

5

Mbps unlimited per month)

Wholesale price of internet connectivity in the participating

countries (per STM-1 per month)

$45-65K (est.)13 Lower

Number of international carriers in the participating countries 6 Higher

Target values will be proposed as longer-term indicators during the assessment conducted as part of

Component 1 of this activity.

3 Components and methodology

ECA-4 comprises three inter-related components and the task team proposes the following methodology:

3.1 Component 1: Identify opportunities for improved regional connectivity

3.1.1 Assess gaps in and potential for improved regional connectivity

Assess gaps in the supply of regional cross-border broadband backbones, and the potential for new

regional connectivity programs. This will include an assessment of: (a) demand prospects within

countries with a focus on SMEs as users of broadband and including a baseline analysis to identify

existing issues and challenges,14 (b) the potential economic and social gains from improved regional

connectivity for the target countries especially focusing on the growth opportunities for SMEs, and (c) the

policy or regulatory impediments to improved regional connectivity.

3.1.2 Identify at least three possible regional connectivity programs

Identify at least three programs that would have a major impact in increasing supply, stimulating

demand and reducing the cost of connectivity. The identified programs could be entirely new, in the

planning stage, or extensions of or complements to existing connectivity programs. This will include

organizing a workshop to enable a consultative and transparent process of identifying these possible

connectivity programs.

3.2 Component 2: Start up support for one regional connectivity program

3.2.1 Design at least one of the three identified regional connectivity programs

By undertaking feasibility studies and designing implementation mechanisms to deploy competitively

neutral broadband infrastructure, analyze the possibilities for different public private partnership (PPP)

approaches for at least one of the regional connectivity programs. This will include organizing

workshops to design high-impact PPPs. The initial focus will be on the South Caucasus.

3.2.2 Support in start-up preparation of at least one of the identified programs

Provide assistance to design and prepare necessary investment or regulatory instruments for at least one

of the cross-border infrastructure programs designed. Support will focus on preparing the strategic, legal,

regulatory, and transactional documents. The initial focus will be on the South Caucasus.

3.3 Component 3: Regional capacity-building initiative

3.3.1 Organize a sustainable regional capacity building initiative (CBI)

6

This activity will also set up a regional CBI, housed in an anchor institution (e.g. a university or public

institution that is competitively selected) to provide long-term support to the creation of competitive

markets in regional connectivity. CBI will support training aimed at regionalICT policymakers and

regulators across the region in identifying and addressing policy or regulatory impediments to improved

regional connectivity. The activity will provide seed funding for a more ambitious regional CBI.

The regional CBI will:

(1) Directly assist this activity in organizing two capacity-building workshops to support the

activities in Components 1 (see 3.1.2) and 2 (see 3.2.1). This will serve as a means to build

visibility of the CBI across the region;15

(2) Support technical assistance activities (see 3.3.2 below) to build an initial corpus of course

material;

(3) Offer targeted training to countries involved in the regional connectivity program identified in

Component 2; training should include a focus on wireless broadband, international gateway

setup, wholesale market regulation, mechanisms to encourage PPPs; and

(4) Subsequently provide training focused on policy and regulatory topics—competition policy,

broadband strategy and policy, trading practices and pricing analysis—and on-demand

advanced training services.

Training will use content developed also through this activity, the infoDev-World Bank broadband

strategies toolkit, and the ITU/infoDev ICT Regulation Toolkit.

3.3.2 Provide country-specific technical assistance

The regional CBI anchor institution(s) will also coordinate individual consultants to provide technical

assistance to ICT policymakers and regulators in the countries involved in Component 1 and 2.

Assistance will focus on policy and regulatory reforms to enhance open access and remove barriers to

investment in cross-border broadband infrastructure based on global and regional best practices.

Consultants will evaluate existing broadband markets, analyze policy and regulatory frameworks, and

identify key regulatory impediments to improved cross-border connectivity in the target countries. The

regional CBI will identify case studies from Western Europe and East Asia that will be instructive for the

ECA region.

4 Partners and beneficiaries

infoDev is the primary implementing agency for the Creating Sustainable Businesses program and will

undertake this activity in collaboration with the World Bank’s Global ICT Department staff, leveraging

their deep knowledge of the needs of client countries in the region.

Partners include the Government of Finland and its WIDER Europe Initiative, Nokia, the EBRD,

Governments and regulators in selected countries, and ITU. The WIDER Initiative and EBRD are focusing

on projects to develop the region’s telecommunication links and in particular the capacity of the

telecommunication sector.

The World Bank is already working with the Governments of Moldova and Armenia in the ICT sector,

and both countries currently have e-society programs in preparation. ITU will also be a key partner given

its involvement in global and regional telecommunications activities, and also in the Trans-Eurasian

Information Super Highway.

7

5 Timeline

5.1 Proposed timeline

The ECA component of the overall program was formally launched at the Knowledge Economy Forum in

Berlin in May 2010. With the currently available funding, the proposed timeline for this activity is as

follows:

Timeline FY11 FY12 FY13

Activities H1 H2 H1 H2 H1

General

Scoping missions (South Caucasus and Central Asian Republics)

Definition of requirements for possible second phase in Central Asia

Final project report

Component 1

Assessment of opportunities for improved regional connectivity

Identify at least three possible regional connectivity programs

Component 2

Begin design of at least one regional program

Initiate start-up support to countries in the regional program

Component 3

Identify possible anchor institution(s) for the regional CBI

Set up regional CBI

Organization of capacity building workshops

Delivery of policy and regulatory technical assistance

6 Notes

1 TeleGeography, 2010 2 Akamai (2010) “State of the Internet Report, 1Q 2010”, available at: http://www.akamai.com/stateoftheinternet/,

registration required). Romania and Latvia are in 4th and 5th place respectively with a global average connection

speed of 6.3 Mbit/s in 1Q 2010 (actual speed, not marketed speed). The Republic of Korea comes top with an average

connection speed of 12 Mbit/s while the USA is in 16th position with average speeds of 4.7 Mbit/s. 3 For a comprehensive review of the literature, see Qiang, Christine, Carlo Rossotto, and Kaoru Kimura, 2009,

“Economic Impact of Broadband,” pp.35–50 in Information and Communication for Development, World Bank,

Washington, D.C. 4 McKinsey & Company, 2009, “Mobile Broadband for the Masses,”

http://www.mckinsey.com/clientservice/telecommunications/mobile_broadband.asp. 5 Booz & Company, 2009, “Digital Highways: The Role of Government in 21st Century Infrastructure,” p. 5 6 Estonia and Croatia are provided as comparators. 7 TeleGeography, Global bandwidth research, 2010 8 UNPAN e-Government rankings, 2010 9 World Bank analysis based on TeleGeography, 2010 10 This represents the number of third generation (3G) mobile telecommunications subscribers. World Bank analysis

based on TeleGeography, 2010 11 World Bank data for 2008 12 Based on TeleGeography GlobalComms data, includes only subscription packages whose prices were collected in

December 2009

8

13 Estimated price of connectivity between Tbilisi, Yerevan, Baku, and Istanbul. Exact figures will be determined

shortly. 14 The team proposes using a combination of desk research, surveys, workshops, and focus groups for this

assessment. The assessment will look at the current experience of SMEs in using broadband, their near term needs,

and long-term expectations and possible demand for broadband services. 15 These workshops will also be coordinated with other aspects of the overall program, notably on mobile

applications (ECA 1).

9

Annex A: International carriers serving the CIS countries

The tables below provide an overview of the reach of international bandwidth carriers in CIS countries,

with the first table providing information about the countries each carrier covers and the second about

the ownership of these carriers.16

Coverage of international carriers in the CIS

Carrier

Arm

enia

Azerb

aijan

Belaru

s

Geo

rgia

Kazak

hstan

Ky

rgy

zstan

Mo

ldo

va

Ru

ssia

Tajik

istan

Tu

rkm

enista

n

Uk

raine

Uzb

ekistan

Co

un

tries pa

ssed

Trans-Asia-Europe (TAE) 9

Beeline Business 9

Rostelecom 6

NTT Communications 6

Railway Telecom 4

LinxTelecom 4

BelTelecom 3

GTS Central Europe 3

Invitel 2

RETN 2

TeliaSonera 2

Verizon Business 2

Eurotranstelecom 2

Belgacom 2

Transtelecom 1

Datek Telecom 1

Moldtelecom 1

Prime Telecom 1

RomTelecom 1

Cogent Communications 1

Eutelia 1

SlovakTelecom 1

UkrTelecom 1

Carriers per country 3 5 4 6 4 2 6 1217 2 1 17 3

Ownership information

10

Carrier Owner Country of owner

BelTelecom 100% Government-owned Belarus

Belgacom 53.3% Government-owned Belgium

4cE The companies in 4cE alliance include EXATEL of

Poland, Vattenfall Europe Netcom in Germany, CEZ

ICT in the Czech Republic, Danish operators SEAS-

NVE and DONG Energy, and Austrian operators B.net

and EVN. BON provides the bandwidth services in the

Baltic States. The system is not technically a

consortium, as each member state owns its own

segment of the network.

Consortium

Prime Tel TeleDev East Cyprus

Elion AS Eesti Telekom Estonia

Elisa International Elisa Communications group Finland

Railway Telecom Georgian Railway Telecom LLC Georgia

SlovakTelecom Deutsche Telekom (51%) Germany

RomTelecom OTE (Greece) has 54% of the shares. Rest is held by the

Romanian government.

Greece

Invitel Hungarian Telephone and Cable Corp Hungary

Eutelia Mercato (72.5%) Italy

NTT

Communications

Tokyo-based Nippon Telegraph and Telephone

Corporation

Japan

KDDI Privately owned Japan

Lattelecom 51% Government-owned Latvia

Moldtelecom 100% Government-owned Moldova

LinxTelecom A private equity funded company Netherlands

GTS Central Europe Owned by a consortium of private equity funds. Poland

Datek Telecom GTS Central Europe Romania

Prime Telecom Privately owned Romania

Rostelecom Svyazinvest (50.7%) Russia

Beeline Business Vimpelom Russia

Company TTK Russian Railways (RZhD) Russia

Eurotel Cellular operator MTS Russia

Rascom Vimpelcom (54%) Russia

Transtelecom Russian Railways (RzhD) Russia

TeliaSonera TeliaSonera International Carrier (TSIC) Sweden

BT Global Services BT Group U.K.

Interoute Sandoz Family Foundation and Emirates International

Telecoms

U.K.

RETN Privately owned U.K.

Eurotranstelecom Ukraine’s Ministry of Transport Ukraine

UkrTelecom 93% Government-owned Ukraine

Trans-Asia-Europe Ukrtelecom acts as the system administrator. The Ukraine administers

11

Carrier Owner Country of owner

(TAE) system is not technically a consortium, as each

member state owns its own segment of the network.

AT&T SBC Communications U.S.A.

Verizon Business Verizon Communications Inc U.S.A.

Cogent

Communications

Cogent Communications Group, Inc U.S.A.

12

Annex B: Status of WiMAX and LTE deployments in ECA18

Country Company Technology Status (44) Frequency

(MHz, if

available)

Armenia

CallNet (Kornet-AM) 802.16e Live 3600

iCON Communications 802.16e Deployment

NetSys 802.16-2004 Live

K-Telecom LTE Planned

ArmenTel (Beeline) LTE Planned

Azerbaijan

AZQTEL WiMAX Live

Delta Telecom 802.16e Deployment

Belarus

BeST Pre-WiMAX Live

Beltelecom 802.16e Live 3500

BelCel (Diallog) LTE Planned

Croatia

Dubrovnik Telekom 802.16-2004 Live 3500

Nexcom Croatia 802.16-2004 Deployment 3500

Novi-Net (Croatia) 802.16-2004 Live 3500

Odasiljaci i Veze (OiV) WiMAX Planned 3500

Optima Telekom WiMAX Live 3500

T-Hrvatski Telekom (incl. T-Mobile) WiMAX Shut Down 3500

WiMAX Telecom (Croatia) 802.16e Live 3500

Estonia

BaltMAX (Baltic Broadband) 802.16-2004 Live

BaltMAX (Baltic Broadband) 802.16e Live

Elion Enterprises 802.16-2004 Live 3500

Levira Pre-WiMAX Live 3500

Maxicom WiMAX Live 3600

Norby Telecom 802.16-2004 Shut Down 3500

Norby Telecom 802.16e Planned 2300

Eesti Mobiiltelefon (EMT) LTE Deployment

Eesti Mobiiltelefon (EMT) LTE Deployment

Georgia

MagtiCom 802.16e Live

ServiceLine (i-Max) 802.16-2004 Live 3500

VTel Georgia 802.16e Live 2300

Warid Telecom (Georgia) 802.16e Live 3500

Kazakhstan

Alem Communications (incl. Digital TV) 802.16e Live 2500

AsiaBell (AERO) 802.16e Live 2500

DUCAT (Arna) 802.16e Live

Kazakhtelecom WiMAX Deployment 3500

Kazakhtelecom WiMAX Deployment 3500

Nursat WiMAX Live 3500

Obit Telecommunications WiMAX Deployment 3500

13

Country Company Technology Status (44) Frequency

(MHz, if

available)

GSM Kazakhstan (Kcell) LTE Deployment

KaR-Tel (Beeline) LTE Planned

Russia

Center Telecom 802.16-2004 Live 3500

Comstar United TeleSystems 802.16e Live 2500

Enforta (Prestige Internet) 802.16-2004 Live 5200

Enforta (Prestige Internet) 802.16-2004 Live 3500

Freshtel (Icon) 802.16e Deployment 3500

Infoseti Pre-WiMAX Live 5800

MSS Povolzhie Pre-WiMAX Live 5800

New Telecommunications (WITE) 802.16-2004 Live

New Telecommunications (WITE) 802.16e Live

PeterStar 802.16-2004 Trial

Scartel (Yota) 802.16e Live 2500

Sibirtelecom WiMAX Planned

Summa Telecom 802.16e Planned 2500

Summa Telecom (Kazakhstan) WiMAX Planned 2500

Synterra 802.16-2004 Live 3500

Synterra 802.16-2004 Live 2500

Vainakh Telecom WiMAX Planned

Virgin Connect (Trivon) 802.16e Live 5800

Yota Bel 802.16e Deployment 2500

MegaFon LTE Planned 2600

Scartel (Yota) LTE Planned 2600

Svyazinvest LTE Planned

Tajikistan

Babilon-T 802.16e Deployment

Telecomm Technology WiMAX Live

Ukraine

Ukraine

Beeline Ukraine (incl. Golden Telecom) 802.16e Planned 2300

Comstar-Ukraine/Technological Systems 802.16-2004 Live 5800

DCtel 802.16-2004 Live 5800

Intellecom 802.16e Live 2300

PAN Wireless 802.16-2004 Live 5800

Ukrainian High Technologies 802.16-2004 Live 3500

Ukrainian High Technologies 802.16e Live 3500

Vega (formerly Farlep/Optima) WiMAX Planned 2500

MTS Ukraine (formerly UMC) LTE Planned

Uzbekistan

Super iMax (EVO) 802.16e Live 2300

Super iMax (EVO) 802.16-2004 Live 3500

Uzbektelecom 802.16-2004 Trial

MTS Uzbekistan (Uzdunrobita) LTE Live 2600

14

16 Data is from TeleGeography, Global Bandwidth Research Service, 2010; compiled by Elena Kvochko for the team 17 This excludes the carriers that only serve Russia; including them brings the total to 23 18 Data from TeleGeography. Compiled by Elena Kvochko for the team.

15

Annex C: Indicative procurement plan

Components and activities Description Type Procurement

method

Contract timeline

(EOI to completion)

Component 1: Identify opportunities for improved regional connectivity

Assess gaps in and potential for

improved regional connectivity in the

South Caucasus and Central Asian

region

Firm prepares detailed report on gaps in regional

connectivity and identifies three connectivity

programs—one package of ~US$250K

CS19 QCBS

September 2010-June

2011

Identify at least three connectivity

programs

Component 2: Start up support for one regional connectivity program

Design at least one of the regional

connectivity programs in the South

Caucasus

Firm prepares technical design for at least one high-

impact regional connectivity program, provides start

up support through development of regulatory and

investment instruments—one package of ~US$300K

CS QCBS July 2011-June 2012

Support in start-up preparation of at

least one of the identified programs in

the South Caucasus

Component 3: Regional capacity-building initiative

Grant to anchor institution to set up

the CBI

Grant funding to the institution to begin capacity

building programs, prepare the policy reports, and

undertake sustainable training activities—one

package of ~US$200K

CS QCBS January 2011-June

2012

Support to set up the CBI Individual consultants to support the setting up of

CBI—~US$100K

CS CQS

January 2011-

December 2011

General

E/ST Consultant to support the team One individual to provide substantive and

administrative support to the team—~US$100K

S/ETC -- September 2010-June

2012

19 Consultant services