Website Pricing "Unjustifiable" in Kyrgyzstan

Website owners in Kyrgyzstan are getting their internet sites hosted abroad not because they face repression inside the country, but because they feel domain names ending in “.kg” are too expensive.

Internet expert Mikhail Ageev says the price is “completely unjustifiable”, given that country domain names cost seven dollars in Russia and about twice that amount in Kazakstan.

Initially priced at 100 US dollars, registration of a website name ending in .kg now costs about 40 dollars.

The kg zone is controlled solely by internet firm Asia Info. Company head Alexander Samoilenko says website owners get registration and a year’s support for their money. He says the firm’s activities are scrutinised by Kyrgyzstan’s anti-monopolies commission, which has not raised any concerns.

Sergei Tsoy, deputy chairman of Kyrgyztelecom, argues that there is a conflict of interest given that Asia Info is both the domain administrator and a commercial web services provider.

Samoilenko says his company is drafting plans that would allow other companies to allocate and register.kg domain names as well. Ageev welcomes this move, saying it would allow greater competition and drive down prices, but noted that it remained clear when the change would actually happen.

The audio programme, in Russian and Kyrgyz, went out on national radio stations in Kyrgyzstan, as part of IWPR project work funded by the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.