DUSHANBE, January 30, 2013, Asia-Plus  -- Total incomes of Tajik mobile phone operators and Internet service providers rose 14.6 percent in a year to December 31, 2012, reaching 2.2818 billion somoni (equivalent to some 470.5 million U.S. dollars), according to the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade (MEDT).

An official source at a MEDT says this amount also includes incomes of OJSC Tajiktelecom (Tajikistan’s fixed-line telecommunications network that also provides mobile phone and Internet services).

“The amount of services rendered to the population only is 1.0875 billion somoni,” the source added.

As of January 1, 2013, a total number of fixed-line users was 400,000 people and the number of Internet users, including mobile Internet users, was 3.7 million people.

Six mobile phone operators and ten Internet service providers now operate in Tajikistan.