THE FRONT LINE
Delta Telecom is at the forefront of ICT infrastructure and services in Azerbaijan and the region; however, it is not content to rest on its laurels and is expanding services both in terms of capacity and quality.
As Azerbaijan works on refocusing the domestic economy away from oil and gas, it has placed a premium on certain sectors. The domestic ICT sector has dominated this pivot, and rightly so. President Aliyev has pointed out that ICT companies are a priority field, especially as the country begins to play a larger role in the international economic arena. Delta Telecom, as the nation's largest telecommunications provider, plays an integral part in this effort. Since 2000, Delta Telecom has been the leading operator in high technologies in the Caucasus, providing the application of its complex solutions to almost 80% of internet service providers (ISPs) in the entire Caucasus region and 100% of ISPs in Azerbaijan. In fact, Delta Telecom offers such an efficient and well-managed technology infrastructure that Georgia, Iran, Iraq, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan use Azerbaijan as a transit. As a testament to the economic foresight and technological intelligence of Delta Telecom, Azerbaijan is the only CIS country that has succeeded in implementing a unit numeration system to connect all regions of the country. This numbering system fulfills the principles and requirements of the International Telecommunication Union numbering, which has placed Azerbaijan in line with international standards. When the citizens of Azerbaijan choose to connect to the internet in their homes or make calls to their friends and loved ones across town, Delta Telecom is the company responsible for facilitating the connections that have turned Azerbaijan into the rapidly expanding and internationally significant country that the world has come to know.
Never complacent and always seeking new innovations on behalf of Azerbaijan, Delta Telecom has joined the Europe Persia Express Gateway (EPEG) Project on Azerbaijan's behalf. This ambitious project will connect Frankfurt, Germany to Oman with an extensive, high-quality fiber optic communication channel. Azerbaijan has been chosen as a main transit route in the deliverance of this project. Delta Telecom will carry out this project for the country, highlighting the high level of confidence both the international community as well as the government of Azerbaijan has in the company. The building of the fiber-optic cable lines in the far regions of Azerbaijan has already been completed and now the remaining focus falls on certain faraway villages. The length of the EPEG's optic lines will total 10,000km and it is designed to offer speeds of 3.2TB/s. With such a high-value and significant development plan, it is no surprise to find that the decision-makers have once again placed their trust in Delta Telecom for the laying of these fiber optic lines.
Country-wide technological infrastructure programs are not unusual projects for Delta Telecom. In the past couple of years, they have effectively upgraded and modernized the IP/MPLS backbone all over the country. This project included installing routers equipped with 100GB interfaces, capable of switching high volume data traffic simultaneously. This upgraded IP/MPLS network was constructed to cover operators that deal with high speed internet access. In addition, this provided the framework to enable the ultra-popular 3G mobile connection network to thrive, while also creating room for a seamless transition to later generation systems (i.e. 4G). Azerbaijan now has a mobile phone penetration rate of around 110%, placing even more emphasis on the importance of Delta Telecom's advancements in networking infrastructure. Delta Telecom is working on deploying their own mobile LTE network throughout the entire country as well, which includes a planned upgrade to LTE from the current Winmax system that is in place.
Through the major international events in the country's recent history, with Eurovision in 2012 and the Inaugural European Games in 2015, Delta Telecom has been quietly managing the telecommunications and internet connections to the benefit of all foreign and domestic participants, spectators, and fans.
THE FRONT LINE
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Year In Review
Good Times Ahead
<strong></strong><strong>In a year dominated by the overarching theme of low hydrocarbons prices, Azerbaijan showed resilience and verve in putting in place bold measures both to counter the slump in energy prices and put its economy on a surer footing.</strong>
read articleReview: Diplomacy
Operation Outreach
In 2015, Azerbaijan's military budget increased by a notable 27%, to $4.8 billion, or 17.9% of the government's total budget for the year. The first Azerbaijan Defence Exhibition (ADEX 2014), drew over 200 companies from 34 countries, including Russia and the US.
read articleInterview
Rufat Mammadov, President, Azerbaijan Export and Investment Promotion Foundation (AZPROMO)
TBY talks to Rufat Mammadov, President of the Azerbaijan Export and Investment Promotion Foundation (AZPROMO), on large-scale events and their ability to attract FDI and the potential Iran may hold.
read articleReview: Banking
More Interest
In a sector faced with relatively flat growth for 2015-16, new opportunities are still there aplenty, led by the nascent Islamic banking sector, e-banking, and microfinance initiatives. Together, these areas should make banking more diversified and less reliant on a buoyant energy sector for its capital inlay.
read articleReview: Capital Markets
Taking Stock
As Azerbaijan grapples with the knock-on effects of low hydrocarbon prices, the Baku Stock Exchange (BSE) finds itself at the center of the country's efforts to stave off a budget deficit this year. In January, the government announced plans to sell $500 million worth of bonds on the BSE.
read articleReview: Industry & Mining
In The Bag
Industry in Azerbaijan is long established, diversified, and, in many areas, fast growing. Together, these qualities make the sector well placed to see through the global slump in commodity prices, while at home, the manufacturing industry continues to find ways to use its hydrocarbons expertise in other fields, including high technologies and research.
read articleInterview
Khanlar Fatiyev, , Chairman of the Supervisory Board, Ganja Automobile Plant Production Association
TBY talks to Khanlar Fatiyev, Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Ganja Automobile Plant Production Association, on the role of the plant in driving growth in the non-oil sector.
read articleReview: Transport
The New Node
With major new railways linking the region, the opening of the new Baku International Sea Trade Port Complex, the completion of a massive program of road building and upgrading, investment in state-of-the-art fleets ranging from Boeing 787s to rail locomotives, Azerbaijan can rightly claim the title as the Caucasus' transportation hub.
read articleReview: Agriculture
Lots More
Farms across the country are pursuing a policy of increased yields for year-round fruit and in the wheat harvest to stave off an over-reliance on imports. With carefully targeted increases in exports, better routes to port and to market, and greater sophistication of agricultural facilities, farming could soon be the morning star of Azerbaijan's diversified economy.
read articleReview: Health
Under One Umbrella
Life expectancy at birth (2015) is 75 years for women and 70 for men. The median age is 30. For both sexes, longevity increased by six years between 2000 and 2012. Azerbaijan is a relatively youthful country—an important factor in healthcare—with 22% of its populace aged under 15 and just 9% aged over 60.
read articleReview: Education
Baku to School
Azerbaijan's culture has always harbored a deep respect for educational values. This is embodied in the country's Azerbaijan 2020 mission statement, which seeks to raise standards across the sector and introduce ICT as a standard part of the learning experience at all levels.
read articleInterview
Elkhan Mammadov,, Secretary General, Association of Football Federations of Azerbaijan (AFFA)
TBY talks to Elkhan Mammadov, Secretary General of the Association of Football Federations of Azerbaijan (AFFA), on the experience Azerbaijan is gaining in hosting international events.
read article