The Azerbaijani side has approved the interstate agreement that envisages the laying of fiber-optic backbone cable between Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan through the bottom of the Caspian sea.
The interstate agreement “On the organization of activities by communication operators of Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan in relation to the joint construction of fiber optic transmission lines along the bottom of the Caspian Sea on Azerbaijan-Turkmenistan route, their ownership, and use”, signed on November 28, 2019, in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, was ratified by the Azerbaijani parliament and was approved by President Ilham Aliyev.
According to the interstate agreement, the project on laying the backbone fiber-optic cable line (Trans-Caspian Fiber Optic cable line) will be carried out by AzerTelecom, backbone internet provider connecting Azerbaijan to the global internet network, from the Azerbaijani side, and from Turkmenistan side by Turkmentelecom, telecommunication operator of this country. The cable will run from Siyazan to Turkmenbashi.
The backbone cable line with the total length of 300 km will allow the transmission of data with a capacity of at least 2-4 terabit/s and form Digital Silk Road from Frankfurt, Internet hub of Europe to Mumbai city of India through Azerbaijan. The cable line will allow the transmission of Internet traffic from the European Internet centers through Azerbaijan to Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India.
The project, implemented within the “Azerbaijan Digital Hub” program of AzerTelecom, envisages the construction of fiber-optic cable lines between Azerbaijan and Central Asia countries through the Caspian Sea, and the creation of a digital silk road between Europe and Asia through Azerbaijan. The project consists of Azerbaijan-Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan-Turkmenistan routes. There is already an agreement between the operators and an interstate agreement between the two countries on the construction of a 400 km long Trans-Caspian Fiber Optic (TCFO) cable line between Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan.
AzerTelecom is a telecommunication operator of Azerbaijan and the subsidiary of Bakcell, the first mobile operator and the fastest mobile internet provider in Azerbaijan. AzerTelecom connects Azerbaijan to the global Internet network through the diversified network. The company provides a range of advanced telecommunication services to local and foreign companies.