Kazakhtelecom under scrutiny: Authorities reveal details of three investigations
Kazakhstan’s Agency for the Protection and Development of Competition (APDC) has released new details on three active anti-monopoly investigations involving Kazakhtelecom, the nation’s largest telecommunications operator, and its subsidiary Kcell.
Earlier coverage by Kursiv.media, citing a report from Kazakhtelecom, noted that two investigations into the company had been reopened as of early 2025. A third investigation has been ongoing since December 2023.
The APDC said the first case focuses on Kcell and Mobile-Telecom Service (MTS), a former Kazakhtelecom subsidiary sold to Qatar’s Power International Holding for $1.1 billion in January 2025. Both operators are accused of setting monopolistically high prices for SMS services.
The companies appealed the investigation orders in court. In Kcell’s case, the Supreme Court sided with the APDC, allowing the investigation to proceed. MTS has filed a cassation appeal — a request for the Supreme Court to review the ruling from a lower court — which is still pending.
«The court’s decision to dismiss the claim by Mobile-Telecom Service has not yet entered into legal force, as the cassation appeal is awaiting review by the Supreme Court. In Kcell’s case, the Supreme Court upheld the lower court decisions to dismiss the claim, and the investigation was resumed on Jan. 29, 2025,» the APDC said in response to Kursiv.media’s inquiry.
The second investigation targets three mobile operators — Kcell, Mobile-Telecom Service and Kar-Tel, which operates under the Beeline brand. Between May and July 2023, all three companies simultaneously reported increases in mobile service prices, prompting suspicions of anticompetitive collusion. This led the APDC to open an investigation. The operators challenged the agency’s actions in court. Courts of first instance and appellate courts initially dismissed the claims.
«However, on April 22, 2025, the Supreme Court overturned the lower court’s decision in Kcell’s case and ordered a new hearing. Cassation appeals filed by the other two operators remain under review by the Supreme Court,» the APDC said.
In a separate case, in February 2025, the APDC’s Astana office launched an investigation into Kazakhtelecom over suspicions of setting monopolistically high prices for wired internet services. The agency noted that Kazakhtelecom holds a dominant position in that market. The investigation is expected to last up to three months, with a possible extension of two more months. It has not yet concluded. If violations are found, the agency said antimonopoly measures will be taken and results will be published on its official website.
According to data from the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange (KASE), as of Jan. 1, 2025, Kazakhtelecom’s major stakeholders were Samruk-Kazyna (71.32%) and Telecom Systems Ltd (8.1%). The remaining 20.58% of shares are held by minority shareholders, with none owning more than 5% individually.
