Azercell Telecom JSC does not fear any competition, on the contrary, we encourage it in every way possible, Khalim Atesh, Director General of the Company, said commenting the forthcoming appearance of another mobile provider- Azerfon JSC in the mobile communication market of the country, Trend reports.
According to him, over the 10 years of its activity in Azerbaijan, the Company has done its best to introduce high-quality mobile communication services in the country.
Our key end is the quality, not quality. I think that the appearance of the new mobile operator in Azerbaijan mobile communication market will further increase the quality of mobile communication services in the country. It would be more interesting when Azerfon will launch its activity, he said.
Azercell has had a competition experience in the local market, since our company is not an only mobile provider in the country. I am sure that Azercell will continue pursue its activity within that strategy that we consider right both for our subscribers and us, said Mr. Atesh.
Presently, Azerfon is carrying out works on installation of the network in the regions of the country. The new mobile provider is expected to launch its activity not later than the first quarter of the next year.
Azerfon network will first cover Baku and the Absheron Peninsula, Ganja, Mingachavir, Guba, Lankaran, Ali-Bayramli, Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic of Azerbaijan, and the Baku Metro within the next two years. The new mobile provider will cover 80% of the territory of Azerbaijan.
The first mobile communication services in Azerbaijan were presented by Bakcell JSC established in 1994. Azercel JSC, established in 1996, gave an impetus to the development of mobile communication services in the country. Today, the total number of mobile communication subscribers in the country exceeds 2.5 mln people. The population need in mobile communication is intensively increasing day by day, and by the decision of the Collegium of the Telecommunication and It Ministry of the Country, in December, 2005, a license on rendering mobile communication services in GSM standard was given to Azerfon JSC.