Azernews.Az

By Aynur Jafarova

The participants of the Trans-Eurasian Information Super Highway (TASIM) project signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).

The MoU was signed at BakuTel-2013 exhibition on December 3.

The 19th Azerbaijan International Telecommunication and Information Technology Exhibition is held in Baku on December 2-5.

The document aims at outlining the further implementation of the project and determining the participants' power and role, financial expenditures, and legal status.

Azerbaijan is represented in the project by the International Relations and Accounting Center of Ministry of Communications and Information Technologies.

The MoU was signed by head of the Center Jalil Jafarov on behalf of the Azerbaijani side.

TASIM is a project of regional importance which aims to lay down a transnational fiber-optic line covering the countries of Eurasia, from Western Europe to Eastern Asia.

The project envisions the creation of a major transit link from Frankfurt to Hong Kong. The line will connect the major centers of information exchange in Europe and Asia together, stretching through China, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey, and Germany. A reserve North transit line will traverse the territory of Russia, Ukraine, and Poland.

The TASIM will be implemented in two stages; during the first phase, leading regional countries and operators will create a major Internet transit infrastructure that links the West and East together. The process is planned to be finalized in late 2013. In the second phase of the project, TASIM is expected to provide the Eurasian countries that do not have direct access to open sea, including Central Asian states, with Internet connection at affordable rates.

Under the plan, new fiber-optic lines will be constructed, while the existing lines will be upgraded and linked to the TASIM network.

Experts believe that TASIM is able to guarantee an uninterrupted connection between Europe and Asia, adding that most of the fiber-optic routes connecting Asia to Europe and the U.S. are laid out on the seabed.

These routes are prone to accidents that may be caused by natural disasters and fishing boats. That is why Asian countries highly appreciate the importance of TASIM.

The TASIM project will contribute to creating an open information society in the region, increasing the speed of Internet connection, and promoting the development of Internet services which, in turn, will lead to economic development, economic diversification, and increased competition.