Azerbaijan calls for telecom regulation at regional level
By Nigar Orujova
Azerbaijan has projected an initiative to regulate the telecommunications industry at the regional level, the Communications and High Technologies Ministry reported.
The initiative was set forth by the Communications and High Technologies Minister Ali Abbasov during the 9th Black Sea and Caspian Regulatory Conference held in Istanbul, Turkey, on May 29-30.
The conference was attended by heads of the regulatory agencies in the field of communications and information technologies from the Black Sea and Caspian Sea regions.
Abbasov offered to regulate roaming tariffs and their unification at the regional level which is considered in terms of acceptability to end users.
He stressed the importance of signing an agreement between the market regulators and communication providers to achieve certain results in the optimization of roaming tariffs.
Other significant issues which the minister raised were regulation and liberalization of frequency resources, rational use of frequencies for the development of LTE networks.
Certain frequencies, which are today run by government agencies, such as law enforcement agencies, can be used to meet the needs of the telecommunications industry and for commercial services, Abbasov believes.
He also noted the importance of the issue of Internet management at the regional level that can have a positive impact on the solution of the existing problems, such as ensuring the security of personal data, ethical behavior in a virtual environment, and others.
Touching upon the projects of great importance to Azerbaijan and the region as a whole, Abbasov provided the participants with extensive information about the Trans-Eurasian Information Super Highway (TASIM), which received political support by relevant resolutions of the UN General Assembly, as well as the Eurasian Connectivity Alliance (EuraCA), created at the initiative of Azerbaijan.
He said that the participation of many states in these projects is beneficial to all regional players.
The theme of the conference, attended by about 300 high-ranking representatives from 28 countries, was "The impact of new technologies and innovations on regulation".
The conference was aimed at holding discussions and exchange of knowledge and experiences in the field of telecommunications regulation, as well as issues of communications between the countries.
Azerbaijan-Turkey high-tech co-op
On the sidelines of the conference, Abbasov held bilateral meetings with Turkey's Minister of Transport, Maritime and Communications Lutfi Elvan, Minister of Communications and Information Technology of Afghanistan Amirzai Sangin, head of the UN Development Bureau Bahia Sono and other officials and company executives.
At a meeting with the Lutfi Elvan, a decision was made for further expansion of cooperation in the field of high technologies, space industry and postal services between the two countries.
Moreover, the sides discussed holding of the first Azerbaijani-Turkish forum on high technologies, and participation of a great number of Turkish companies at the exhibition and conference on telecommunications and information technologies "BakuTel-2014" in Baku on December 2-5.