DUSHANBE, October 17, Asia-Plus -- Communications Minister Said Zuvaydov told journalists in Dushanbe yesterday that a unified communications gateway for the telephone system has been launched in northern Tajikistan.

All telecommunications companies operating in Sughd route their traffic through the gateway.  Any user of analog telecommunications in northern Tajikistan now accesses any cellular operator in Tajikistan without dialing 8.  That is the main idea of launching such a gateway and each company must have it, Zuvaydov stressed. 

He says such a gateway will allow filtering phone calls and Internet messages. It will also facilitate the introduction of statistics of high-quality, low-quality and contraband communications traffic. 

”Such gateways are being introduced in the telephone system now, but in future will affect all kinds of electrical communications,” the minister said, stressing that the government is still considering establishing a Unified Communications Center and Information Resources Unit, despite reports to the contrary in some media. 

The minister added that experts expect traffic to amount up to US $50 million by 2010. 

Entrepreneurs have complained that if the Unified Communications Center becomes a reality, the government would obtain a virtual monopoly over telecommunications and Internet service. As a result the quality of service could suffer while customer prices would increase, the entrepreneurs said.