Digital Breakthrough: How a major broker has become a key player at the intersection of telecommunications, AI and media

The creation of ecosystems by financial institutions is not just a trend of the future, but already a reality of today. A vivid example of this is the Kazakh company Freedom Finance, which has transformed from a broker into a digital ecosystem. The national Wi-Fi project and the development of local streaming services are becoming drivers of transformation, and this strategy is actively changing the format of user interaction through the integration of digital and financial services. Read more about how companies are capturing the telecommunications, AI, and media markets in the Izvestia article.

Freedom Telecom, part of the Freedom Holding Corp. ecosystem, has announced a large-scale infrastructure project: the launch of a national Wi-Fi operator. The goal is to provide unified, secure Internet access at key social facilities throughout Kazakhstan: schools, hospitals, train stations, airports, and even border posts.

"The infrastructure we are creating is becoming a platform for the development of digital services and solutions based on artificial intelligence, supporting Kazakhstan's course towards the formation of an AI economy," said Freedom Telecom CEO Kairat Akhmetov.

The project already covers 400 locations in 10 cities, 10,000 access points are planned by 2026, and 20,000 by 2027. In the long term, up to 40,000 Wi-Fi points are expected across the country. And all this is based on Wi-Fi 7 technology, the most advanced to date.

International recognition

At the same time, in mid-October, Freedom Telecom received the Wi—Fi 7 Pioneer Award from IEEE, one of the most influential technology organizations in the world.

—Today, Freedom Wi-Fi has more than 3,000 active points, over 1 million authorizations and gigabytes of transferred data every month, and this is just the beginning," emphasized Kairat Akhmetov.

The prestigious statuette was presented at GITEX GLOBAL 2025 in Dubai, where Kazakhstan was presented as an active player in the field of AI and digitalization.

According to Ainur Amirbekova, Managing Director of QazTrade, Kazakhstan's participation in GITEX has become part of a strategy to export intellectual products, not just raw materials. In 2024, the country's IT services exports reached $881 million, an increase of 20.3%. Thus, a private company from Kazakhstan, having received this award, actually secured the title of a pioneer in Wi-Fi 7 technology for Kazakhstan.

Integration into the ecosystem

Since January 2024, Freedom Media has become a subsidiary of Freedom Telecom, the first large—scale streaming project in Kazakhstan aimed at a local audience. This is a logical link: telecom has communication and access, and the media has monetization of attention.

Freedom Media works with Kazakhstani directors and producers, and more than 70% of the catalog is in Kazakh. 13 original series and three shows have already been filmed, and 10 more projects are in production, with content based on data on audience behavior and its division into target segments.

— People want to watch about themselves, about their culture, in their own language. (...) Our goal is for Freedom Media to become not just a streaming service, but a window into modern Kazakh culture,— emphasizes Freedom Finance founder Timur Turlov.

Since October, the Freedom Media online cinema has been available in the Freedom SuperApp application: more than 3 million users can watch original series, TV channels and sports broadcasts, including Formula 1. The head of Freedom Finance notes that the integration task is not trivial for a banking application, but it fully corresponds to the strategy of combining convenient services into a single ecosystem.

It is noteworthy that Freedom Media's export plans are already being implemented in practice: the series "Munai" and Kazakh Scary Tales have already been sold to Latin America. Investments in streaming are planned at the level of $54 million for the next five years.

Another important part is direct transactions with majors and ecosystem monetization. Freedom Media has signed contracts with Paramount, Sony, Disney, Warner, NBC Universal and other film giants — it is a conscious choice to work with the world's leading companies in the industry without intermediaries in order to scale the legal catalog faster.

In the coming months, Freedom Media will continue to produce original local content, deepen integration into the superapp, and expand international partnerships, including on children's and documentary content. At the same time, the strategic guideline remains pragmatic.

— Content can influence the growth of our entire financial ecosystem. We understand well how to monetize the audience. If you spent a billion and raised 300 million, it means the viewer doesn't see value in it," Turlov emphasizes, insisting on the discipline of payback without interfering with creativity.

Future plans

The integration of Freedom Telecom and Media into the Freedom superapp is not just a convenience, but also a powerful business model. By accessing content or communication, users simultaneously gain access to banking, insurance, investments, tickets, cashbacks, AI personalization, and the marketplace - all in one window.

— The ecosystem allows you to spend less on customer acquisition. This reduces costs and allows us to offer the best prices," says Turlov.

Gradually, it is telecom that becomes the key link in this model — a provider of traffic and an effective channel of attraction. According to Turlov, Freedom Telecom will start selling the Internet in 2026 using a subscription model similar to paid streaming services. More and more services are being combined under a single brand — with a single logic of data, subscription, promotion and monetization.

Finance for digital growth

Another asset of the holding, Freedom Mobile (mobile retail and services), placed 850 thousand bonds on Astana International Exchange (AIX) for a total amount of $85 million. The rate is 11% per annum, payments are quarterly. The funds received will be used to expand the network and retail of Freedom Mobile Bank.

The company already holds up to 10% of the mobile device market in Kazakhstan and plans to double its share by 2026.

"We are moving from a classic retail network to an ecosystem—based digital model, where our own technologies and customer service are at the center," emphasizes Victoria Novichkova, CEO of the company.

The bond placement will be an important step in the transformation of Freedom Mobile: the IT platform, installment/payment service, loyalty programs and integration with SuperApp will be developed. According to Turlov, the holding plans to develop the practice of public offerings in other subsidiaries of Freedom Finance, which will expand investors' access to the company's fast-growing digital assets.