Freedom Telecom invests millions of dollars in Shymkent
According to Freedom Holding Corp. (FRHC) CEO Timur Turlov, the holding’s subsidiary Freedom Telecom is actively expanding its presence in Shymkent, with total investment in the city amounting to $14.8 million. He made this statement during a meeting with President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.
As the businessman noted, the company’s investments in the city’s infrastructure can be divided into four areas, one of which is public Wi-Fi, installed at 13 locations across Shymkent — including 10 parks — providing a total of 40 hotspots.
«We plan to install no fewer than 300 new hotspots in Shymkent in 2025. These will include the airport, Ordabasy Stadium, Nauryz Park and other locations,» Timur Turlov said.
The FRHC CEO also noted that Freedom Wi-Fi is currently available at more than 150 locations throughout Kazakhstan, offering a total of 1,000 hotspots.
Another area of development Timur Turlov talked about during the meeting is fiber-optic communication lines. Freedom Telecom has already deployed 800 kilometers of cable and plans to expand broadband internet to the city’s suburbs.
«We are already serving more than 300 organizations, including government agencies in the city,» noted the Freedom Holding CEO.
According to him, a state-of-the-art micro data center is currently under construction in Shymkent. As part of the project, innovative dual-purpose poles — capable of supporting surveillance cameras — are being tested. In addition, 57 base stations have already been built in Shymkent to provide wireless network access, with 93 more planned to come.
The Sergek national AI platform project is also part of Freedom Holding Corp. Sergek has been operational in Shymkent since 2022 and, as Timur Turlov noted, currently includes around 300 hardware and software complexes, 1,500 surveillance cameras, and 650 users of the Sergek Qorgau app designed especially for police officers.
«The economic impact is also notable. Over the past three years, the local budget has gained 10.3 billion tenge (approximately $19.9 million) from Sergek,» stated Timur Turlov.
Furthermore, the CEO of Freedom Holding Corp. reported on the success of the Med365 project, which aims to automate employee medical examinations for enterprises and improve access to high-quality medical services for rural residents.
«Since 2024, the pilot project has reached 100 villages in the Karaganda region, with thousands of people examined. This phase has demonstrated several significant advantages. Our plan is to expand the project to cover the Turkestan region and the Shymkent urban agglomeration, reaching a total of 4 million people, half of whom live in rural areas,» Timur Turlov summarized.
On April 1, Kursiv.media reported that Freedom Bank has issued 33,500 loans worth $1.2 billion since the launch of the digital mortgage service.
