Providers must have backup Internet access
By Nigar Orujova
Internet service providers working with senior customers, including banks and transport companies, should have an alternative access to international communication channels, said Galib Gurbanov, the chairman of the Azerbaijan Internet Community.
Azerbaijan nearly lost all internet connectivity due to technical issues on November 16. The problem occurred since a fire broke out in the lines connected to the DATA-center of Delta Telecom, Azerbaijan’s primary provider. Internet outage for several hours affected the functioning of some organizations in the country.
Currently about 80 percent of the service providers are connected to one primary provider, and this situation should be changed, Gurbanov noted.
“Today, Internet is not only a way to gain access to information, video services, and so on, but also a necessary tool in the activities of banks, financial institutions, airlines, etc.,” he noted. “There are many services where downtime is unacceptable, and from this point a full alternative is needed. That is, for example, to rent 70 percent of channels from one operator, and 30 percent from the other. This issue will be discussed at the Azerbaijan Internet Community.”
Commenting on the issue whether the telecommunication satellite Azerspace-1 can act as an alternative in this case, the chairman said the satellite Internet by its technical parameters and the speed is considerably inferior to optical access, and therefore its use as an alternative is ineffective.
“Satellite Internet was used in the early stage of Internet development in the country. The satellite connection speed is lost and there is a delay. Therefore, satellite channels cannot be considered as an alternative. This type of access to the Internet can be used to provide Internet services in remote areas,” Gurbanov said.
Currently, some 75 percent of the population uses the Internet. Broadband Internet penetration among the population stands at 62 percent. For these indicators, Azerbaijan is twice ahead of the world average.
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Nigar Orujova is AzerNews’s staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @o_nigar
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