The telecommunications sector in Kazakhstan is one of the most advanced in the North and Central Asia region. Significant efforts have been made to develop the information and communications technology (ICT) infrastructure with existing fibre-optic communications lines located along main highways and major cities. Telecommunications services are generally affordable, and as a result, a relatively high percentage of its population has access to broadband services.

Mongolia, a country of 3 million people, is located in Central Asia and is land-locked by Russia to the north and China to the south. It is the nineteenth largest country in the world with a total area of approximately 1.6 million square kilometers. While Mongolia is the least densely populated country in the world, with less than 2 people per square kilometer, two thirds of its population live in urban areas with more than one million people living in the capital city Ulaanbaatar.

This working paper of the Asia-Pacific Information Superhighway Working Paper Series identifies key information and communications technology (ICT) policies and strategies in Timor-Leste, assesses the level of ICT development, and evaluates the challenges and policy implications.

For the Royal Government of Bhutan (RGoB), providing affordable and reliable communications facilities to all its citizens has always been a challenge due to the country’s rugged and mountainous terrain, small and scattered population, and landlocked nature. Nevertheless, recognizing the potential of information and communications technology (ICT) in boosting socioeconomic development, the RGoB has committed to the roll out of a national fibre-optic backbone infrastructure since 2015, through its National Broadband Masterplan Implementation Project.

The waves of information and communications technology (ICT) development in the Pacific subregion are so enormous that they cannot be ignored. A decade ago, no one could have imagined the rapid ICT progress and changes experienced today in the Pacific subregion. No one would have thought that it was possible for Samoa, Tonga, Vanuatu, and even Yap and Palau to be connected by submarine cables. What’s more, plans are underway to connect the small and remote islands of Tokelau and Tuvalu to submarine cables.