Internet in Afghanistan

Internet in Afghanistan is available in all of its 34 provinces, and is used by over 9 million people as of 2022.^[1][2][3] The internet officially became available in 2002 during the presidency of Hamid Karzai. Prior to that year, it was prohibited because the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan believed that it may be used to broadcast obscene, immoral and anti-Islamic material, and because the few internet users at the time could not be easily monitored as they obtained their telephone lines from neighboring Pakistan.^[4][5]

Afghanistan was given legal control of the ".af" domain in 2003, and the Afghanistan Network Information Center (AFGNIC) was established to administer domain names. The Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT), charged a newly created independent company called Afghan Telecom with spinning off all telecommunications operations and services. Up from five functional internet service providers (ISPs) in 2003, Afghanistan supported twenty-two internet hosts and seven main ISPs, and a growing number of internet cafés and telekiosks (public access points located in post offices and at Kabul International Airport). The country currently has around 6,000 .af domains.^[5]

Afghans have long recognized the internet as an important source of growth and development for the country, believing that information and communication technologies can create opportunities for disadvantaged groups and improve the access of the rural poor to markets.^[4] In November 2006, the MCIT contracted a Chinese firm (ZTE) for the establishment optical fiber cable network in the country.^[6] The price of internet gradually began reducing in the late 2010s.^[7] 3G services began in the country in 2012 and are provided by all major telecommunication companies, including Afghan Telecom, Afghan Wireless, Etisalat, MTN Group, Roshan, and Salaam Network. 4G services became available as of 2017.^[8][9][10]