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Date: Sat, 16 Oct 1999 14:00:54 +0500 From: Batyr Karryev To: Karl Kurien Cc: batyr@sibnet.tm Dear Karl, Thanks. I glad about your interest in Turkmenistan Network. Best regards, Batyr ------------------------- Dr. Karryev's report follows ---------------- Internet in the Turkmenistan August 1999 Dr. B.Karryev Turkmenistan Network ISOC member number: 1330056 BK3264 E-mail: batyr@sibnet.tm; batyr@telecom.tm Web: www.sibnet.tm; www.price.asb.tm; www.sibling.asb.tm 1. Executive summary Territory: 488.100 square km. Population: 4.483.000 Capital city: Ashgabat 548.000 Important cities: Mary (Old Merv), Turkmenabad, Dashogus, Turkmenbashi, Balkanabad. Borders: In the North Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, in the north east and east Uzbekistan, in the south east Afghanistan, in the south Iran. West of Turkmenistan is covered by the Caspian Sea. 2. Introduction Since its deceleration of independence in 1991, Turkmenistan a former Soviet Socialist Republic, has made a great leap forward to join the global community of nations. The structural and institutional process, as part of the transition on period, has seen the introduction of major policies towards establishing a free enterprise market economy operating within a stable political environment. This newly independent proud country has substantial natural and human resources so as to establish in a well developed agro-industrial base and market economy . With its vast amount of energy resources, oil, natural gas and agro-industrial capacity, particularly in cotton production and textiles, Turkmenistan has tremendous unreleased economic potential capable of making this national a development success among the former Soviet Republics. As has been indicated by the policies of the leadership, on essential part of national policy to preserve sovereignty and accomplish economic development is, addition to internal political stability, a regional strategy of peaceful co-existence through the declaration of neutrality. Since December 12, 1995 Turkmenistan (with her neutral status) has been recognized by the world community. It is well known that, like the other newly independent countries of the Soviet regime, the people and scientific community in Turkmenistan experiences many difficulties. Although these difficulties are mostly due to the economical reasons, they also have to do with the consequences transpositions of the policies of the policies of the Soviet regime. For example, under the Soviet regime, communications and the development of electronic information services were not considered as an important part of the general and scientific infrastructure and was not developed. As a result, the ordinary people and scientists in Turkmenistan do not have enough information about the world database producers, the demand for and users of information, existing databases, and international scientific programmes and projects. Thus it is difficult for them to dain access to international information and scientific community. In the light of the above, one of the missions of Turkmenistan is to integrate the intellectual potential of the country into the world system of human values, and to have access to the sources of the information which is essential for democratic transformation. The aim of this report is to give description about e-mail and information services in Turkmenistan, in order to create organisational and technical basis to the international computer network Internet and information service in Turkmenistan. This includes the development of information services for business and the research institutes, universities and medical centers in Turkmenistan. The main objective of the report is to provide full Internet connectivity to a large number of users in the organisations located in the main business, medical, scientific and research centres of Turkmenistan. The basic scientific institutes in Turkmenistan are the Supreme Council on the Science and Engineering at the President's office of Turkmenistan (SCCE), Sciences, Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Academy of Medical Sciences and universities. There are near 3,000 employees in the research institutes of Turkmenistan involved in practical basic research. The Turkmen State University is the main university of Turkmenistan's, organized in departments of history, languages, literature, philology, international relations, geography, as well as physics, mathematic, chemistry and biology, etc. More than 5,000 students are educated by the 550 faculty staff consisting of 40 professors and doctors of sciences, near 300 senior lecturers and near 200 science candidates. Now the University have only e-mail connection and use local computer network for students without access to WWW services. The Turkmen Politechnical Institute is the other post-graduate institute of Turkmenistan granting degrees in petroleum and gas, chemical, power, textiles, food, and civil engineering, etc. TPI has 37 departments, 390 lecturers, among them 5 are the academicians of national and international academies, 20 professors, near 170 science candidates and senior lecturers. Now TPI have only e-mail connection and use local computer network without access to WWW services. Central Scientific Library (CNL) under SCCE is the unique Turkmen library specialising in technological literature. The CNL possesses a total of 1.2 million books on technology, which acquired at an annual rate of 20,000. Up until 1991, the CNL received 60 foreign and 25 Russian scientific journals annually. Since 1992, the inflow of foreign journals has practically stopped (except for 8 inter-library exchanges). Since second half of 1995, inflow of Russian scientific journals has also stopped. Today, CNL haven't computer network and can't use in practical life Internet and access to other world library. Study and use by services in these organizations are free. Their costs are provided with the state and today cannot be sufficient. Only few universities and institutes have full access to Internet. Since 1998 International Turkmen-Turkish university has access in Internet and has own Web page (http: //www.ittu.edu.tm). In 1999 the state Institute of the transport and communication also has received access in Internet and has installed Web page (http: //http: //www.tsitc.edu.tm). For development Internet in country are necessary technical and financial support and help in preparation of the experts. The international support of educational institutes and schools is necessary for it, the important significance has assistance ISOC. 2. Development of electronic information services In 1991, Academy of Sciences of Turkmenistan (AST) and University of Sun Diego, California have began works on organization the examination of earthquakes. The result of this collaboration is an international observatory (http:// http://www-ida.ucsd.edu/public/sta/ABKT.html) with modern equipment for investigating and monitoring of seismic activities within the IDA/IRIS project (http://www-ida.uscd.edu/). It has carried out indispensable work on the creation of a constant chain of access to the global computer network Internet. The task of exchanging information on earthquakes was decided on with the Centre of International Research. Since 1993, work on the development of a system of access to the Internet and the creation of the computer network at the Academy has been carried out by the Scientific Information Bureau AST in collaboration with company SIBIS (now, names is Sibling&Tecnologies, http://www.sibling.asb.tm; http://www.sibis.tm), which provided the necessary technical basis and devises provision for the Turkmenistan Informational Networks (SIBNET, http://www.sibnet.tm) . In, 1994-1995 investigations into seismic activity of Balkan area (Turkmenistan) and Caspian Sea were done in collaboration with the Center SYNAPS (Russia, http://www.synapse.ru). The result of this work has been a database on weak earthquakes, and arrangements for exchanging information via the Internet. Since 1997, the joint efforts of the specialists at the Scientific Information Bureau AST and the SIBIS company (http://www.sibis.tm) have led to the availability of public access to SIBNET under dial-up lines, thus providing e- mail and full access to the Internet. For this matter used leased line to Obninsk (Russia) with speed only 9.6 Kbits. In the same year, specialists Scientific Information Bureau AST and SIBIS company prepared Web sites with information on Turkmenistan and SIBNET (http:///www.sibnet.tm), and began work on organising databases for the provision of different information services. In 1997 director SIBIS company (Dr. Batyr Karryev) has been in training in INET 97'Workshop (Track 4 National Network Management) and receive good knowledge about National Network Management and work with ISOC's staff. This Workshop very much has helped to progress Internet in Turkmenistan and for started cooperation with other Internet Centers. Since 1997 a joint Project with Turkish Centre TUBITAK, with support from scientific committee of NATO, provided scientifically research institutes of AST access to the information resources of Internet system and prepared new Web sites (http://www.nidff.sibnet.tm; www.info.sibnet.tm; www.med.sibnet.tm). Since 1997 Sibling&Technologies (last name has been SIBIS) company and state news agency of Turkmenistan Turkmenpress have created Web sites with weekly news about Turkmenistan (www.tpress.sibnet.tm). Since 1997, under the auspices of the President of Turkmenistan and under the leadership Ministry of Communication of Turkmenistan (http://www.mct.gov.tm), the joint efforts of the specialists at the Scientific Information Bureau AST and the Sibling&Techologies company (http://www.sibling.asb.tm) have led to the availability of public access to Turkmenistan Online network (http://www.online.tm ) and SIBNET under dial-up lines, thus providing e-mail and full access to the Internet. For this matter prepared satellite connection to US with speed 128 Kbits. In 1997-1998, Scientific-Technical Center (STC, last name has been SIB AST, http://www.stc.telecom.tm) of State electronic connection company Turkmentelecom (http://www.telecom.tm) was set up and have began project Internet/Turkmenistan, towards the formation of an electronic network in Turkmenistan. In the process of consolidation, the following was accomplished in 1998: - Establishment of POP in Ashgabat phone switch. Equipment located at this node supplied by the NIG project includes Cisco router 2511, several modems, and top level .tm domain secondary DNS server. Approximately 16 lines are allocated for leased or dial-up connections. - Phone switch POP was connected to US via satellite (MCI) which greatly improved the external connectivity. Technical specifications: a) speed 256 kbits/s b) connection point in US Andover by satellite and New York gateway c) satellite used Intelsat In 1999 was establishment Cisco routers 4500, new modems equipment (USR MP) and we has new Web sites. This is joint Projects of STC Turkmentelecom, Sibling&Techologies company, state news agency of Turkmenistan Turkmenpress, the newspaper Neutral Turkmenistan and other organizations): State information agency of Turkmenistan (http://www.tmpress.gov.tm, Win, Eng). Weekly news about Turkmenistan? - policy, economy, culture, public life. Turkmenistan network (Win, Eng, http://www.sibnet.tm). Catalogue of the references on Web sites of Turkmenistan, information about Turkmenistan, it to economy, culture, enterprises, establishments. Accounting bulletin (Win, http://www.bv.asb.tm). Information on business dealing in Turkmenistan, texts of the acts in sphere of business, taxation, customs rules. Addresses and telephones of tax inspections. TurkmenPress (Win,Eng, http://www.news.gov.tm). Daily news from Turkmenistan: policy, economy, public life, state programs, culture and medicine. The Press-courier Turkmenbashy (Win, Eng, http://www.tmpress.gov.tm). The electronic newspaper from Turkmenistan (issuing of edition of the newspaper Neutral Turkmenistan) about policy, right and company, economy and business, culture, medicine and derivation, sport of the state Turkmenistan. 2000: problem Y2K (win, http://2000.asb.tm). Materials about problem Y2K, news, item of information, solutions, methodical recommendations for solution problem 2000 in Turkmenistan, reference on Web sites, information for the users of computer engineering. Ministry of communications of Turkmenistan (Win, Eng, http://www.mct.gov.tm). Official Web pages of the Ministry of communications of Turkmenistan The items of information on services of communication, radio and TV in Turkmenistan. The list of the officials of the Ministry. Turkmentelecom (Win, hpp://www.telecom.tm). Official Web pages of the company of electrical communication of Turkmenistan. The items of information on services of communication in Turkmenistan. The list of the officials of the company. Scientific and technical Centre Turkmentelecom (Win, http://www.stc.telecom.tm). Information on Internet-services in Turkmenistan, item of information on conditions of organization of access in the system Turkmenistan Online (http://www.online.tm). Sibling&Techologies (Win, Eng, http://www.sibling.asb.tm). Information on Internet-services in Turkmenistan, item of information about Internet and Intranet systems, Web design, computer service in Turkmenistan, modern computer and information technologies. We now have a commercial government network with dial-up and leased line connectivity for users - Turkmenistan Online and the Network of SIBNET for information and research projects. STC and Sibling&Technologies company will soon be able to IT strategy and thus the expected results of international cooperation will include, but not be limited to: 1. Supplying the urgent demand for communication, and access to knowledge; 2. Creation of partnerships and co-operation between scientific organizations; 3. Provision of full Internet services in Ashgabat to a diverse user-community, and introduction of Internet culture to a number of user-organizations, including scientific, educational, and medical institutions; 4. Training of networking specialists and of users, acquainting them with the possibilities of modern computer communications; 5. Establishment of an Internet infrastructure in the Turkmenistan, which would be very difficult without external assistance; 6. Better opportunities for the establishment of computeraided teaching methods. The technical teams of STC of Turkmentelecom, Sibling&Technologies company and the other interested organizations will work to set- up communication channels in Ashgabad, to train users and provide on-going technical support of the network and development Internet access in all Turkmenistan area. For it the important significance has the help ISOC in establishment of cooperations with centres of Internet in different countries, preparation of the experts and system managers, organization connections with computer firms, information interchange between the experts in different countries of the world. References Links General Information on Turkmenistan http://www.tmpress.gov.tm http://www.tpress.sibnet.tm http://www.news.gov.tm http://www.sibnet.tm http://www.bv.tm http://www.ittu.edu.tm http://www.online.tm http://www.mct.gov.tm http://www.telecom.tm http://www.stc.telecom.tm http://www.info.sibnet.tm http://www.med.sibnet.tm http://www.sibling.asb.tm http://www.sibis.tm http://www.2000.asb.tm http://www.telecom.tm http://www.abakus.asb.tm http://www.icafe.asb.tm http://www.price.asb.tm ------------------------------- end of document ----------------------------