More and more states are giving priority to digitalization, which is a driver of innovative development of the economy. The COVID pandemic and the subsequent state measures of self-isolation of citizens to combat the pandemic have shown how critical the availability and accessibility of broadband Internet and online services are, as well as the level of digital literacy of the population. After all, it was information and communication technologies that allowed millions of people to continue working and studying remotely, and to get instant access to government directives and important medical information. The ITU global initiative Connect2Recover has become a response to the challenges of the pandemic. It aims to strengthen the digital infrastructure and digital ecosystems of countries as they adapt to the impact of the pandemic and to help these countries remain resilient to other challenges in the future.
As part of the Connect2Recover initiative, a comprehensive analysis of Kazakhstan's digital resilience has been completed. The study analyzes the completeness and relevance of data on fixed and mobile broadband access, assesses the digital sustainability of the underlying network infrastructure, telecommunications market and telecom operators, and analyzes industry and national documents in the field of digital development and their contribution to bridging the digital divide. A separate emphasis in the study is made on a review of the status of connecting schools to broadband Internet access and measures that hinder or contribute to the speedy provision of a universal and adequate connection to all schools in Kazakhstan.
The authors of the study note the best practices of Kazakhstan in such areas as the publication of digital maps of Internet accessibility; work to promote the services of checking the quality of the Internet connection; infrastructure resilience to overloads; a developed practice of network infrastructure sharing; introduction of innovative approaches to regulation, as well as an integrated approach to the digitalization of economic sectors and a developed structure for managing digitalization processes.
The Government of Kazakhstan was given a number of recommendations. With regard to digital data, it is recommended, among other things:
- to more actively use international organizations to disseminate information about the level of digitalization of the economy, and approaches to regulating the industry (through participation in thematic surveys, for example, ICT Regulatory Survey, and Tariff Policies Survey). This will help improve the country's position in international rankings and attract investment;
- to revise approaches in terms of the practice of collecting data on the number of mobile broadband Internet users, the degree of disaggregation of data by age groups, as well as to modernize questionnaires for collecting data on the connection of hospitals and schools;
- to provide for a study of access, adoption and use of ICT, ownership of Internet access devices, and digital skills among people with disabilities.
To increase digital resilience, it is proposed to consider the possibility of creating additional traffic exchange points; increasing the number of services and applications in the Kazakh language; increasing the number of secure Internet services and implementing DNSSEC for top-level domains.
In terms of regulatory measures and state policy in the field of digital development, it is recommended to ensure greater transparency and openness at the stage of developing national strategic documents, increase the degree of elaboration of measures to achieve and evaluate targets, consolidate the possibility of cross-sectoral use of infrastructure in regulatory legal acts, and ensure correlation of national targets for connecting schools with international ones.
The full version of the report (in Russian) can be found here. A summary of the report in English is available here. The report was presented by ITU experts at the Digital Bridge International Technology Forum (September 28-29, 2022, Astana). The presentation can be viewed at the link.
