Azerbaijan considering switching to LTE
By Nigar Orujova
The state operator is considering switching to the promising LTE technology to further develop communications in Azerbaijan, where mobile phone penetration rate stands at 112 percent.
Baku Telephone Communications Production Association under the Communications and High Technologies Ministry is considering LTE technology as a promising area for the development of communication standard CDMA, the PA reported.
“Prospects of CDMA remain vague, and today it is worth considering switching to other technologies. This issue is on the agenda. The lack of frequency resources is the reason that impedes the development of the CDMA standard,” the association said.
Today, the issue of the modernization of CDMA networks and transition to LTE is relevant to many operators in Asia and the U.S.
The CDMA update is another step in the development of the network, as CDMA 2001X used today by network operators is considered obsolete, the PA said earlier.
The association believes that the evolution of the network infrastructure is inevitable, following innovation dictated by IT-equipment manufacturers, whose products becomes more and more universal every year. This in turn has a positive impact on improving quality and increasing the list of services provided by operators.
“In general, the CDMA subscriber base declined slightly last year due to the expansion of the fixed telephony in settlements where subscribers mainly used communication standard CDMA earlier,” said the association.
To date, a total 24 CDMA base stations are involved in the state operator network. The numbering capacity of CDMA can reach 20,000, and 10,000 are currently in operation.
There are three mobile operators in Azerbaijan – Azercell, Bakcell, and Azerfon – providing LTE services to its subscribers.
Speaking about mobile devices used in the country, 50.7 percent of the market is covered by Samsung devices, followed by Apple with an 18.1 percent distribution. The third popular, Nokia, covers 9 percent of the market.
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Nigar Orujova is AzerNews’s staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @o_nigar
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