Research and
Marke
has announced the addition of the “Mongolia – Telecoms, Mobile and Internet” report
to their offering.

Since the Mongolian Government”s telecommunications reform program in the
mid-1990s, there has been effective liberalisation of all market segments,
partial privatisation of the fixed-line incumbent operator, Mongolia Telecom,
and establishment of an independent regulator. Mongolia acceded to the WTO in
1997.

Competition is in place for both fixed and mobile telephony including local,
long-distance and international, internet, VoIP and VSATs. The internet market
is a small but growing sector. Government initiatives such as the e-Mongolia
National Program are helping to spread internet awareness and usage throughout
the country.

The fixed-line network is declining rapidly while the mobile phone market
has undergone a remarkable boom. The national policy has been to have a
competitive telecommunications segment with two CDMA and two GSM mobile
telephone service operators. Accordingly, two additional mobile licences were
awarded in 2005/06 to Unitel (GSM) and rural mobile operator G-Mobile (CDMA).

As part of the transition to a market-based economy, Mongolia committed
itself to modernising its telecommunications network and steadily introducing
advanced communications services.

Market Highlights

– Not all areas of Mongolia are connected to the internet. However, good
progress has been made, with most universities and research institutes,
government organisations, agencies, banks, and companies in Ulaanbaatar being
online. Market penetration continues to remain strong in the urban centres,
although the rural sector is catching up.

– The number of e-commerce services such as e-banking, online shopping, and
e-services has risen in Mongolia. This is partly attributed to a government
initiative established in 2005 called the One Home One PC program providing
low-cost computers for around US$250.

– Broadband subscriptions are increasing and account for over 50% of
internet subscriptions. Fibre to the Building deployments have also connected
major buildings, hotels, schools, and government houses.

– Since the launch of the two new mobile operators, subscribers have
increased with uptake in rural areas. This has impacted on fixed-line
subscriptions and put the national operator Telecom Mongolia under pressure.

– MobiCom launched the country”s first 3G WCDMA mobile network in the
country.