DUSHANBE, January 15, 2016, Asia-Plus – Tajik government has signed a decision on establishment of the Unified Electronic Communications Center.

The decision that has been published in the government-run newspaper Jumhuriyat , in particular, notes that the Center is being established for the purpose of overseeing and regulating incoming and outcoming traffic of international electronic communications and Internet.

Under this decision, all telecommunications companies and Internet service providers (ISPs) will route their traffic though the Unified Electronic Communications Center.

The communications service agency is ordered to ensure a step-by-step implementation of this decision during this year.

Meanwhile, some local experts consider that by establishing the Unified Electronic Communications Center the government would obtain monopoly over telecommunications and Internet service.  As a result the quality of service would likely suffer while customer prices would increase, according to them.

Besides, they note that Unified Electronic Communications Center would leave the country vulnerable to a communications blackout.  Any interruption in the Center’s systems could potentially prevent Tajiks from communicating with or obtaining information from the outside world.