[liberationtech] Kazakhstan

Sun Dec 18 09:47:34 PST 2011

Yes 3G is decently widely available and is a popular way to access the
Internet (either from flash cards or via tethering).

Lowest international calling rate would be Russia.

ISPs vary in their use of packet shaping and/or blocking of VPNs.

As far as access points, this is from my blog post yesterday:
http://katypearce.net/cv/?p=329

(and this is nationwide, spring 2011)

Access points vary.  2/3rd (OF WEEKLY AND DAILY USERS) get online via the
own PC, most at home (60% of frequent users). Public places are less common
that home — 44% at work, 33% at school, 33% at a cafe on a public computer,
35% at a cafe with their own laptop. Mobile Internet is used by 55% of
frequent users.

On Sun, Dec 18, 2011 at 12:36 PM, Andrew Lewis <andrew at pdqvpn.com> wrote:

> Yeah each base station is several grand, but is 3G data available in
> general and in wide use? I guess what I am looking for is a general idea of
> how someone in Kazakhstan accesses the net, is it via DSL at home, 3G on
> the go or at cyber cafes? Also what counties have low intl calling
> rates(which I can look up, but as an example of a tidbit that'd help) and
> what is or isn't blocked like VPNs or VoIP.
>
> -Andrew
>
>
>
> On Dec 18, 2011, at 12:12 PM, planetary <planetary at plntry.net> wrote:
>
> Not sure how addressible that approach is given astronomical cost and bulk
> of commercial equipment, skills required, operational interaction required
> for secure 3G AuthN/AuthZ, and the dependency on a stable IP network
> interface.  And is incurs the "bullseye" risk of a series of central
> physical targets that would take down the hub of any network you
> established.
>
> Have seen this done with short-range GPRS RAN setups on basically friendly
> ground where everyone knew / trusted each other and had a stable IP network
> interface (it's an annual feature of any decent hackercon), but believe
> there's a reason many-to-many mesh networks with weak ID / strong
> encryption have been the pattern in situations where that's not the case.
>
> On Dec 18, 11, at 9:01 AM, Katy Pearce ucsb wrote:
>
> PS, my QUICK answer to the question of the easiest way to get internet to
> KZ, without knowing the costs involved, would be to setup alternative
> cellular towers and make 3G flash drives and/ SIM cards that would make
> tethering available for it. 3G flash cards are a VERY common way to get
> online as is tethering across KZ and other countries in the region.
> On Dec 18, 2011 11:58 AM, "Katy Pearce ucsb" <kpearce at umail.ucsb.edu>
> wrote:
>
>> Hi Andrew.
>>
>> There isn't a ton available (or at least there wasn't when I last checked
>> 2 years ago), but if you can tell me what would be useful for you, I can
>> try to pull some stuff together. Are you looking for a fiber map or
>> something more like what isps exist or what sort of filtering system are
>> used?
>>
>> Alternatively, you can find a decent summary (sometimes) with the Budde
>> Comm reports. They're about $300 and most of the info is publicly
>> available, but they do an okay job with keeping up with the fiber being put
>> down.
>>
>> Just let me know and I can try to help.
>>
>> Thanks,
>> Katy
>> On Dec 18, 2011 11:53 AM, "Andrew Lewis" <andrew at pdqvpn.com> wrote:
>>
>>> Does anyone know what the telecom infrastructure and setup looks like in
>>> Kz? Knowing what is available or how it is deployed would help guide
>>> us(Telecomix in my case) towards solutions that better fit the actual
>>> situation, rather then our current unguided efforts involving dial up.
>>>
>>> -Andrew
>>>
>>> Sent from my iPhone
>>>
>>> On Dec 17, 2011, at 9:19 AM, Katy Pearce <katy at katypearce.net> wrote:
>>>
>>> Yes, much of Central Asia depends on Internet via Kazakhstan.
>>>
>>> There are some sat phone internet efforts that I know of, but I'll touch
>>> base again after asking some friends...
>>> On Dec 17, 2011 9:17 AM, "Rebecca MacKinnon" <
>>> rebecca.mackinnon at gmail.com> wrote:
>>>
>>>> Some members of this list may have seen news of the government
>>>> crackdown in Kazakhstan.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> http://www.hrw.org/news/2011/12/17/kazakhstan-investigate-violence-oil-rich-western-region
>>>>
>>>> http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/12/17/us-kazakhstan-clashes-idUSTRE7BG08D20111217
>>>>
>>>> Excerpt from the HRW report:
>>>> "The government has apparently shut down access to at least some
>>>> mobile, voice, and text services in Zhanaozen. By late afternoon, Human
>>>> Rights Watch could no longer reach workers by mobile phone, and access to
>>>> Twitter.com and other news sites reporting on the unrest had been
>>>> blocked by the authorities. “Without a means to communicate with the
>>>> outside world, people in Zhanaozen are extremely vulnerable,” Rittmann
>>>> said."
>>>>
>>>> Is anybody aware of efforts to set up dial-up access, satellite
>>>> internet access, ad hoc radio or wireless networks  or anything for
>>>> Kazakhstan? I'm hearing rumors (unconfirmed) that shutdown of Internet and
>>>> some mobile services may extend beyond Zhanaozen.
>>>>
>>>> If anybody is aware of any efforts underway please let me know either
>>>> on or off-list. I know some people who may be interested in supporting such
>>>> efforts but they don't know who to approach.
>>>>
>>>> Cheers,
>>>> Rebecca
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>    --
>>>> Rebecca MacKinnon
>>>> Schwartz Senior Fellow, New America Foundation
>>>> Cofounder: GlobalVoicesOnline.org
>>>> Author: ConsentoftheNetworked.com
>>>> Office: +1-202-596-3343
>>>> Twitter: @rmack
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
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