Kyrgyzstan

Basics

There are three GSM-based operators in Kyrgyzstan:

• MegaCom (by JSC Alpha Telecom)
• Beeline (by Sky Mobile)
• O! (by Nur Telecom)

3 other smaller operators called Katel, Nexi and Sapat Mobile use GSM-incompatible CDMA for 2G and are not on the list. 2G/GSM is on 900 and 1800 MHz, 3G on 2100 MHz in up to DC-HSPA speed on the three major operators. 4G/LTE started on O! only on 2600 MHz in Bishkek in 2014.

Coverage and speed are good in the major cities, but can be very slow to non-existent in the countryside.

Buying a SIM card

When purchasing a SIM card, you officially have to show a photo ID. Since March 2014 SIM registration in Kyrgyzstan is compulsory. Existing SIM card holders must register personal ID details by February 2016 or face disconnection. Start-up price for prepaid SIM cards is around 125-200 som.

There are many mobile provider shops in town and even more outlets to top up. Almost every 5th house in the country has a small store called "magazin" and does top-ups. On central squares, you can find small booths with ladies doing the recharge and self service terminals with touch screens. There you have to enter your mobile number and feed it with coins and notes. Language is Russian only, but quite easy to figure out because of lot of graphical elements on the screen.

The manned top-up outlets sell scratch cards. But mostly you just tell (or show) the lady your mobile number to top up. They will add a 5 som fee for the service and type in some special codes to add balance.

MegaCom

MegaCom, owned by JSC Alpha Telecom, is the market leader in this country with 37% customer share. It has the best coverage: 98% of the population are covered by 2G and about 2/3 of the populated areas by 3G in 2015. This means that you have good coverage in the cities, but it can become patchy elsewhere: coverage map.

Availability

In their stores and service points. For map and locator go to the coverage map linked above. Their default prepaid tariff is called Basic (Базалык). You don't need to switch plans because they all have the same data packages to add.

To top up by scratch card type *555*<PIN code>#. To check balance *500#.

By typing *181*1#<call> you activate data, by *181# you check data balance, by *181*0# you deactivate data.

Data feature packages

Default data on the Basic plan is 17.7 som per MB from midnight to 6am and 35.3 som/MB from 6am until midnight.

MegaCom has so-called "unlimited" internet options on a daily basis and classical monthly data packages. The "unlimited" options come in three sizes:

• Unlim24: no daily fee, one time subscription fee of 25 som, activation by *194*1#. Up to 60 MB per day high speed, beyond throttled to 64 kbps.Deactivation by *194*0#
• Unlim 100: 30 som daily fee, 15 som subscription fee, activation by *191*2#. The first 100 MB per day high speed, next 100 MB at 192 kbps, from 201 MB throttled to 64 kbps. Deactivation by *191*0#
• Unlim internet: 19.50 som daily fee, 15 som subscription fee, activation by *191*1#. First 60 MB per day high speed traffic, next 60 MB at 192 kbps, from 121 MB throttled to 64 kbps. Deactivation by *191*0

The classical data packs distinguish day and night traffic. They come in these monthly packs.

Daytime Data	Nighttime Data	Price	Activation
35 MB	35 MB	50 som	*192*35#
60 MB	60 MB	80 som	*192*60#
125 MB	125 MB	150 som	*192*125#
300 MB	300 MB	320 som	*192*300#
500 MB	500 MB	430 som	*192*500#
1024 MB	1024 MB	675 som	*192*1024#
2048 MB	2048 MB	950 som	*192*2048#

Daytime is 8am to midnight, nighttime midnight to 8am.

More info

• APN: internet
• Website in English not updated: http://megacom.kg/eng/

Beeline

Beeline by Sky Mobile is the biggest competitor of MegaCom and has a 36 % market share. It has a limited 3G coverage shown in Russian only on these coverage maps.

Availability

Prepaid sim cards available with top ups of 150-200 som. Check balance by typing *102#. to top up by scratch card type * 104#<PIN code>#. Starting up, you will be in default tariff called Start (Старт). There is no need to change tariffs as all have the same data options to add.

To activate data, type *181#3#, to deactivate *182#3#

Data feature packages

These daily packages are available. A day is 24 hours from activation:

• 5 MB: 6 som, activation: *505*05#, deactivation: *505*05*0#
• 10 MB 10 som, activation: *505*10# deactivation: *505*10*0#
• 25 MB: 20 som, activation: *505*25#, deactivation: *505*25*0#
• 50 MB: 30 som, activation: *505*50#, deactivation: *505*50*0#
• 100 MB: 50 som, activation: *505*100#, deactivation: *505*100*0#

These monthly packages are available:

Data Volume	Price	Activation
50 MB	50 som	*3133*50#
250 MB	150 som	*3133*250#
500 MB	220 som	*3133*500#
1 GB	350 som	*3133*1024#
2 GB	520 som	*3133*2#
5 GB	1200 som	*3133*5#

All packages auto-renew. To stop, text *3133*0#. To check balance, type *505#

Data-only SIM

They additionall sell data-only SIMs for tablets in tariff Internet (Планшет). They are on prepaid and have a monthly data allowance of 3 GB. The monthly fee is 600 som. For the first month they give 3 GB night traffic (1am-6am) for free.

More info

• APN: internet.beeline.kg
• Website in Russian only: http://beeline.kg

O!

O! by Nur Telecom is the smallest of the 3 operators. It has a very limited coverage in the countryside. But in Bishkek, it's the only provider to offer LTE on 2600 MHz, but not for prepaid yet. Before buying a SIM card, make a network scan and check their coverage maps in 2G, 3G and 4G.

Availability

Prepaid sim cards available for 120-200 son in their offices (locator). For data, you can change to tariff plan "Internet" (Интернет) by typing *155*7# <call>. This change will be charged with 30 som. On this tariff the default rate is 1.39 som per 100 KB. Default Away! (Оной!) plan charges 2.99 som per 100 KB.

Data feature packages

They sell these 2G/3G internet packages on all plans:

Data Volume	Price	Activation
50 MB	89.50 som	*720*50#
250 MB	347.50 som	*720*250#
500 MB	425 som	*720*500#
1 GB	499 som	*720*1000#
2 GB	899 som	*720*2000#

Check data balance: *720#.

• unlimited night package (midnight-8am): 120 som, activation: *722#, deactivation:*722*0#

More info

• APN: internet
• Website in Russian only: http://www.o.kg