BAKU, Azerbaijan, Nov. 25
By Sadraddin Aghjayev – Trend:
One of the most important activities of the Association of Cable Operators of Azerbaijan is the development of cable TV services in the Azerbaijani territories, Executive Director of the Association Ali Aliyev told Trend.
"The Association of Cable Operators will implement this policy in the territories liberated from the occupation," Aliyev added.
"The members of the association - cable television operators are ready for the full deployment of networks in the liberated territories as soon as possible," the executive director added. "Almost 30 years of occupation led to the complete destruction of the entire infrastructure of these districts and first it is necessary to create conditions for the normal living of people there, to build roads, houses, socially important facilities, as well as to provide people with communications and utilities."
"Both state organizations responsible for the development of IT and private business will implement various regional projects in these territories," Aliyev said.
"Certainly, some projects will be socially significant and aimed at meeting the needs of the future population in this region," the executive director added. "First of all, the projects will be implemented to deploy fixed telephone lines, mobile communication, and broadband internet."
"For this purpose, regional automatic telephone exchanges, through which wire telephone communications and the internet will be distributed, will also be built," Aliyev said.
"It is now difficult for the Association, from an economic point of view, to make an approximate calculation of the funds required for investment for the future population of these territories to be able to use cable TV and internet services," the executive director said.
"This is a very difficult question," Aliyev said. "As I have already stressed, there is no infrastructure in the region and everything needs to be built from scratch. No Azerbaijani company has yet encountered such a situation. Specific figures can be announced only after the infrastructure is deployed, on which the creation of cable television services and access to the internet depends, "
"The existing providers will render high-speed internet services," the executive director added.
"Rendering of services in this sphere is one of the types of business and everyone can create a new internet provider that will operate locally in this region," Aliyev said. "But most likely, internet services in the liberated territories will be rendered by existing providers as they have already gained great experience and appropriate expertise is available if there is professional personnel."
The executive director said that due to the huge volume of upcoming work, the implementation of projects will be distributed between state enterprises and big telecom operators.
"As the enormous volume of work must be conducted as everything will have to be built from the very beginning, the main implementation of IT and telecommunications infrastructure projects will be distributed between state-owned enterprises and big telecom operators," the executive director said. "For example, all three mobile communication operators will most likely build mobile communications in the region. As far as I know, this process has already partially begun."
"Azerbaijan is a country with developed technologies and foreign internet providers are unlikely to appear in our country," the executive director added.
"I remember that there are very few examples in the world practice when internet services are rendered by foreign companies in the countries in which the level of technology development is similar to Azerbaijan," the executive director said. "Therefore, there are no economic prerequisites that any foreign company wants to become the internet provider in the liberated districts. Foreign investors prefer other sectors in the field of IT. Investments in local infrastructure are not their priority."
"At the initial stage, only mobile internet, as well as internet through modems will be rendered in these territories," the executive director said.
"It is much easier to deploy a mobile data transmission network," Aliyev said. "Mobile internet and, of course, mobile communication will be in great demand among various structures that will be involved in the restoration of the region. One must understand that builders, power engineers, various state structures will be actively working in this region and they will really need communication. At the initial stage, the mobile network will be able to meet their demand in communications."
"If we talk about using the internet for education, entertainment, and so on, then for these purposes the need for the internet will increase only after our compatriots return to their historical places of residence," Aliyev said. "By this time, a wired internet connection will be deployed there. The quality and speed will be the same as in other districts of Azerbaijan."
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