The emergence of computer communications in Uzbekistan in 1990 was made necessary by the importance of exchange among scientists, academics, and government structures. At that time, there was only offline connection. There were several sites in the main cities, with free access to offline users. The Internet first appeared in Uzbekistan in 1995. NGOs also use their Internet service free of charge.
Technical issues prevent the Internet from becoming more widespread in Uzbekistan.
Only 3 percent of the people in the country have access to the Internet. There are several Internet providers in Tashkent working on upgrading telecommunications equipment such as satellite dishes and fiber-optic telephone lines. On 23 July 1997, the president of Uzbekistan issued a decree entitled On Measures to Reorganize and Improve the Management of the Information Systems Sector. The decree abolished the Ministry of Communications and converted it into the Uzbek Postal and Telecommunications Agency. There is tremendous interest in exploring the Internet on the part of scientific researchers, students, and teachers.