Kyrgyzstan's communication services reach KGS 32.1bn in nine months as September slows

Communication services in Kyrgyzstan totalled KGS 32,082.8 million in January to September 2026, against KGS 29,048.5 million a year earlier, according to an express release from the National Statistical Committee dated 15 October. The committee's growth index for the period was 107.1 per cent, down from 108.3 per cent for January to August in its previous release, dated 14 September.

The release gives no split between mobile, fixed, internet and other services, names no operators, and does not say whether the index is calculated at comparable prices. The two value columns imply nominal growth of 10.4 per cent, on Link Budget's arithmetic, which suggests the 107.1 per cent index strips out price changes, but the release does not say so. The 2026 figures are marked as preliminary.

Even after the slowdown, the year is running ahead of 2025. The same table gives an index of 106.2 per cent for January to September 2025 against the year before, so the 2026 rate of 107.1 per cent is 0.9 percentage points higher. The January to August comparison was wider: 108.3 per cent in 2026 against 106.2 per cent a year earlier, according to the August release. The gap between the two years has therefore narrowed from 2.1 to 0.9 points in one month, on Link Budget's arithmetic.

What September added

Subtracting the eight-month totals from the nine-month totals, September 2026 accounted for about KGS 3,541.8 million of communication services, against about KGS 3,425.4 million in September 2025, a nominal increase of about 3.4 per cent, on Link Budget's arithmetic. In the first eight months the nominal increase was 11.4 per cent, from KGS 25,623.1 million to KGS 28,541.0 million, the August release shows.

The monthly figure should be read with care. It is derived from two preliminary cumulative totals, and either year's base may be revised; the committee does not publish a separate September series in the release.

Postal and courier services

Postal and courier services grew faster. They reached KGS 2,552.8 million in January to September, against KGS 2,250.8 million a year earlier, with an index of 113.8 per cent, down from 117.0 per cent for January to August, according to the September release. Communication services were about 12.6 times the size of postal and courier services over the nine months, a Link Budget calculation.

The same release shows the wider transport sector moving faster than communications: freight carried by all modes rose to 53,546.5 thousand tonnes, an index of 108.9 per cent, and passengers carried to 494.7 million, an index of 106.5 per cent. Within freight, rail carried 7,762.3 thousand tonnes and road 45,404.5 thousand tonnes, the table shows.

What officials say about the network

The statistics do not cover network build. At the International Telecommunication Union's regional forum in Dushanbe on 29 and 30 September, Altynbek Toktorbaev, chairman of the Kyrgyz Republic's Communications Regulation and Supervision Service, cited the construction of about 3,500 km of fibre-optic lines and connectivity for about 99 per cent of settlements, with satellite solutions used for the remaining gaps in mountainous areas, according to the ITU's draft outcome report. The report does not say over what period the fibre was built or who owns it. A regulator official also described a pilot that brought satellite internet to a high-mountain school in Issyk-Kul region.

None of these documents gives operator revenue or subscriber counts, so the slowdown cannot be traced to a particular company or service from the published data.

The committee's January to October release, which on the timing of the last two would appear in mid-November, is the next document to read.