Communication & IT
In 1234, the Mongol Empire of Chinggis Khaan set up the world's first long-distance postal transmission system, known as "Morin urtuu" (Horse relay station). Then it could take a letter from Kharakhorum to the Caspian Sea in one week. The horse relay service remained so un- * til the 1930s. The modern communication development began in the 1930s with the first international telephone exchange. Those days are gone, but now Mongolia is enjoying another information boom. The Government of Mongolia recognises that Information & Communication Technologies (ICT) have an important role to play in the development of the country.
They offer a platform for building and applying knowledge; facilitate participation in trade for isolated communities, and small and medium enterprises as well as corporations; are critically important for national competitiveness; and allow for improved delivery of public services. Before 1990 the country applied only analogue networks. New information technology has been effectively introduced into Mongolia with high speed since 1992. Mongolia Telecom Company (MTC) is the national telecommunications company of Mongolia. MTC is a joint venture between the Mongolian government, which holds 60 per cent of the company, and the Korean Telecommunications Company, owning all remaining shares.
The company is planning to expand its services into the areas of cellular phones and internet-services in the near future. Deregulation of the telecommunications market is expected to enhance competition and provide new opportunities for growth. The government intends to privatise a portion of the state-owned shares of the Mongolia Telecom to a strategic investor through a competitive tender. Mongolia takes a high place in the international arena with a number of computers and mobile phones per person. The telecommunications network of the country was renovated and installed according to international standards by Alcatel of France, EWSD of Germany and KDD of Japan, with future projects coming from Germany and Korea.
The country is connected with more than 150 countries via American Intelsat, Asiasat-1 and Intersputnik satellite links. Moreover, mobile telephone services, paging and data networks, cable TV networks, radio and TV broadcasting, and intranet networks are presently operating in Mongolia. The Government Action Plan for 2000-2004 aims to provide technical facilities to connect Aimag centres with domestic and international communications and information networks. It is planned to upgrade the automatisation rate to 85 percent and to increase the number of telephone users by 20 percent by the end of 2004. VSAT satellite communication stations were installed in a number of aimags under the Communications II and III project.
As a result of the measures to upgrade and improve communication services all Aimags have now been provided with access to automatic dial, and Internet and e-mail services, through dial-up tone services. The first-ever cellular telephone service company "MobiCom" was established in 1995 with Japan's investment. Since then, digital technology has been introduced to the communication sector of the country in the short term. Any foreigner visiting Mongolia can enjoy using mobile phones within GSM and CDMA systems. Today number of mobile users has reached 256.8 thousand. Nowadays, all aimags, except three, have access to cellular phone services. Furthermore, customers of the MobiCom Co. can enjoy its roaming services, using their local phones in 48 countries.
Skytel, the second cellular phone service provider in the country, is planning a $5.3 million investment to expand its CDMA system network that will transfer all customers in rural areas currently using the AMPS system. The government of Mongolia supports the introduction of new state of the art information technology to this sector by granting taxation relief. By some estimates, every day there are approximately over 1000 calls from Mongolia to foreign countries and 14,000 calls to Mongolia from Korea, Russia, USA and China, where many Mongolians work and live. New international telephone prepaid cards such as the "Smart" Card were recently put into service. Sky C & C Company launched the smart card on May 2, 2002. The Card may be used from any telephone, to over 260 countries. Because of lower costs, higher quality of connections and easier use, the card is called "Smart".
The internet was first brought to Mongolia by DataCom in January 1996. Since then, various internet-based services such as e-mail, internet connections, internet faxing, internet telephone, e-accounts, e-shopping, and internet cafe are available to users in Mongolia. Information technology is being introduced in Mongolia rapidly, and the total speed of the outgoing line is reaching 1472 Kbit/s, whereas the incoming is 2592 Kbit/s. There are four main Internet service providers in Mongolia such as Magicnet, Datacom, MiComand BodicomputerCo.,Ltd. Also, the number of internet cafes has reached 80. The Government of Mongolia approved the Medium Term Strategy for the Development of the ICT sector and an Action Plan for its implementation in January 2003.
Furthermore, the Government also approved the Communications Law of 2001 and has established the Communications Regulatory Commission to regulate the telecom sector. Mongolia has made considerable progress in developing its information and communications infrastructure in recent years, particularly in the area of availability of modern basic service and cellular services. The Internet service market is fully liberalised and there are approximately 50000 internet users. Anum-ber of licensed VSAT service providers also provide various value added services such as managed network services, which allow businesses to utilise ICTs. Approximately 90 per cent of the current fixed network infrastructure is digitised. Further, Mongolia Railways also owns fibre optic infrastructure.
This provides the opportunity to provide affordable bandwidth while increasing returns on state owned assets and investments. Telecommunications systems in Mongolia have all been transferred to digital technology. A united telecommunication system now covers all aimag centres and 360 soums. Mobicom accounts for 52 per cent of the sector, Telecommunication Company 34 per cent and Skytel the remaining 14 per cent. According to the "State of Affairs of Information and Communication Technology" journal, there are 75 Internet cafes in Ulaanbaatar. Ten of them are open 24 hours a day. The cafes have between 10 and 40 computers each. Outside the capital, 11 public Internet Centres have opened in ten aimag centres.
