TURKMEN TELECOMMUNICATIONS CONFERENCE ATTRACTS

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ASHGABAT 001196

SIPDIS

STATE FOR SCA/CEN; EEB; NEA/IR
COMMERCE FOR EHOUSE

E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/18/2019
TAGS: PGOV ECON ECPS EIND EINV TINT TX
SUBJECT: TURKMEN TELECOMMUNICATIONS CONFERENCE ATTRACTS
U.S.INTEREST

REF: A. ASHGABAT 1145

B. ASHGABAT 1116

Classified By: Charge Sylvia Reed Curran for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).


1. (SBU) SUMMARY. On September 16, Turkmen government
officials opened the third annual Turkmentel 2009 Information
and Communication Technologies (ICT) Exhibition and Forum in
Ashgabat. The Turkmen press touted the event as a large
scale international forum initiated by Turkmen President
Berdimuhamedov, who recently repeated his goal of ensuring
that all Turkmen citizens would have access to the Internet.
About 60 foreign companies from 20 countries participated in
the exhibition including companies from Russia, Turkey, the
U.K., Cyprus, UAE, Austria, China, Belarus, Georgia,
Lithuania, the USA, and Iran. Although no U.S. company had
its own booth, Cisco, IBM, and Qualcomm sponsored the event,
and there were some representatives of other U.S. ICT
companies seeking opportunities to enter the Turkmen ICT
market. END SUMMARY.


2. (SBU) Every state-sponsored exhibition and forum in
Turkmenistan begins with a welcome message by President
Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, which at this event was read by
Turkmen Deputy Chairman for Transport and Communications
Nazarguly Shagulyev. In his message, the Turkmen President
repeated his goal of ensuring that every Turkmen citizen have
access to the Internet, acknowledging that this goal would
only be achieved through state-of-the-art technology (ref B).
He stressed the importance of achieving this goal as soon as
possible, and that the GOTX (via the Ministry of Transport
and Communications) has developed a timeline and mechanism
for achieving it. He noted that provincial
telecommunications companies have made tremendous progress in
training ICT professionals in order to ensure that Turkmen
citizens have access to high-quality ICT equipment in the
nearest future.


3. (C) To date, the average Turkmen only has access to
dial-up Internet provided by the state-owned phone company.
More affluent subscribers can receive Internet access via
mobile phone programs offered by the Russian giant MTC, but
mobile phone Internet access is cost prohibitive for most
users. On the margins of Turkmentel 2009, Economic Officer
visited with representatives of a handful of U.S. companies.
These representatives all agreed that there is a growing ICT
market in Turkmenistan. During the exhibition, it was
noticeable that many of the foreign companies present offered
U.S.-made products, including high-tech 3M wiring systems,
IBM and HP software, Motorola telephones, and Cisco products.


4. (C) In a meeting with the Charge on September 15, an
American ICT consultant discussed the possibility of
partnering with the Turkmen to build an ICT assembly plant.
The consultant could not release the name of the company or
the products the company planned to assemble, but she
reported positive feedback from Minister of Transport and
Communications Owlyaguly Jumagulyev on her proposal. She
told the Charge that the company she represented wanted an
assembly plant in Central Asia, and they were strongly
considering Turkmenistan as its Central Asian hub. (COMMENT:
Although the consultant seemed enthusiastic, it is unclear
why a large, U.S.-based, technology company would consider
opening an assembly plant in Turkmenistan, when business
conditions for such a venture would seem to offer greater
potential for success in a larger, more open market such as
Russia and Kazakhstan. END COMMENT.).


5. (C) U.S. satellite dealer Sintel also expressed interest
in the Turkmen market. The company head noted that the
Turkmen president recently announced plans for a national

ASHGABAT 00001196 002 OF 002


telecommunications satellite (ref A). The Sintel
representative is now seeking a meeting with the Ministry of
Transport and Communications to discuss U.S. satellites and
services. The Head of the U.S.-based Black Sea
Telecommunications company also discussed plans to provide
Turkmenistan with WIMAX Internet capability, as it has
already done in Azerbaijan and Georgia. In addition, this
company is seeking opportunities to provide cable television
services, claiming over 300,000 subscribers in the former
Soviet Union.


6. (C) COMMENT. The increased interest of U.S. companies in
the Turkmen communications sector was encouraging. As many
of the U.S. representatives noted, however, the difficult
visa regime and the almost impossible task of getting a
meeting with government officials speak volumes about the
current Turkmen investment climate. At the same time, if
more U.S. companies are willing to devote the time and effort
needed to make a breakthrough, there are numerous business
opportunities in Turkmenistan's growing ICT sector.
Exhibition attendees told us that the unexpected presence of
U.S. companies at the event not only provided Turkmentel with
more credibility, but it made Russian, Turkish, and European
companies like Siemens more than a little nervous. END
COMMENT.
CURRAN