Azerbaijan, Baku, 1 May / corr. Trend S. Babayeva/ The launching of Azerbaijani AzerSat communication satellite, worth $100mln, will open new opportunities for introduction of new services in various spheres of economic and social life of the country including education, health, and business, Hamadoun Toure, the director general of the International Telecommunications Union said to Trend .
According to Toure, Azerbaijan's own satellite 'will give rise to the spirit of entrepreneurs and inflow of investments' which will contribute to the economic growth.
The head of ITU said that the Azerbaijani satellite is expected to attain an orbital position by the end of 2008.
" Azerbaijan is one of the five countries requesting for an orbital position which was granted by the World Radio Communication Conference of ITU in 2007 (WRC-07)," he said.
In the first stage AzerSat will be financed with the public resources, later it will be made self-sufficient. More than quarter of satellite's resources will be used by Azerbaijan, with the remaining part being leased to European and Asian states. The satellite may be launched in 2010. The satellite can be used for 20 years.