99% of settlements in Uzbekistan said to be covered by mobile communication

Uzbekistan has achieved 99% mobile network coverage across its settlements. This was announced today, October 21, during a video conference chaired by President Shavkat Mirziyoyev on the development of artificial intelligence technologies.

It was noted that in today’s world, where the demand for artificial intelligence is rapidly growing, the President emphasized the need to focus on three key areas to remain competitive: infrastructure, open data, and personnel training.

Over the past eight years, 300,000 kilometers of fiber-optic communication lines have been built, covering 99% of all settlements with mobile connectivity. In addition, seven data centers have been launched to process and store large volumes of information.

Next year, 100 artificial intelligence projects are planned to be implemented in various sectors, including healthcare, energy, banking and finance, customs and taxation, transport, mining, and agriculture.

To implement upcoming projects, Uzbekistan requires sufficient computing power and modern supercomputers. However, the country’s current capacity is only enough to support small-scale initiatives. As a result, local entrepreneurs are forced to use foreign infrastructure for their projects, spending millions of dollars.

In this regard, $50 million has been allocated this year for the purchase of 16 supercomputers. It was also announced that this amount will be doubled next year.

It should be recalled that during the same meeting, it was reported that the volume of AI-based services in Uzbekistan is estimated at $10 billion, and that deputy ministers and industry heads responsible for digitalization will now also oversee artificial intelligence development in their respective sectors.