Broadband Internet expansion project covers Azerbaijani regions
By Nigar Orujova
Reconstruction of regional telecommunication nodes with the total 300,000 number capacity is planned under the broadband internet expansion in 2013-2015, Aztelekom production association of the Communication and Information Technologies Ministry said on Saturday.
The reconstruction work allows increasing the number capacity of the regional automatic telephone exchanges up to 600,000 and bringing the number of broadband internet ports up to 500,000.
Moreover, in the frame of the broadband internet development project, construction of new telephone exchanges is planned in the country's northern regions of Guba, Khachmaz and Gusar.
All the central telephone exchanges of these regions will be transferred to the Next Generation Network's nets.
The state operator also intends to construct an alternative fiber-optic cable route along the Shamakhi-Guba route.
The operator plans to build electronic phone exchanges in 80 settlements of Guba, 79 settlements of Khachmaz and 52 settlements of Gusar regions, which will allow to create 7,992 broadband internet ports in Guba, 7,248 in Khachmaz, and 3,600 in Gusar.
Azerbaijan has maintained its leading position among the CIS countries in terms of broadband Internet penetration over the past three years.
Internet penetration rates increased from 65 to 70 percent in 2012. Also, work has been carried out to improve the quality of data transmission services. The capacity of international communication channels more than doubled compared to 2011 and fees were reduced by 35 percent.
At present, Internet fees for connection speed of 1 Mbit/s account for about 3 percent of the average wage in Azerbaijan. For comparison's sake, the fees are up to 20 percent of wages in developing countries.
Some 103 million manats (about $131 million) have been allocated for the implementation of the broadband Internet development project in Azerbaijan in 2013, which means further spread of broadband Internet in the country and an increase of Internet users to 85 percent.
Thus, Azerbaijan is expected to reach the level of developed countries on this indicator by 2017.