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IT sector in Azerbaijan (January-May 2013)

Analysis Materials 11 July 2013 14:53 (UTC +04:00)

Azerbaijan attaches great importance to the development of ICT sector in connection with the announcement of 2013 as the Year of ICT in the country.

According to the World Economic Forum's Global Information Technology Report 2013 which reflects the Networked Readiness Index (NRI) in 144 world countries, Azerbaijan ranked 56th with 4.11 points, improving last year's figures by five points. Azerbaijan is listed as the most developed country in the field of ICT in the CIS with Kazakhstan (43rd) and Russia (54th).

WEF experts have devoted a separate section to the country under the title of 'Azerbaijan: Big ambitions in terms of the rapidly changing world', which refers to the efforts of the country to develop ICT and maximise benefits in this area.

According to the State Statistics Committee, in January-May 2013 organisations and people of Azerbaijan were provided with information and communication services at a total cost of 586.7 million manat, which is 7.9 per cent more than in the same period of 2012.

Some 72.1 per cent of the total volume of information and communication services accounted for services rendered to the population.

Around 59.7 per cent of the total amount of revenues fell to the mobile services which is 10 per cent more than in the same period of 2012.

In January-May 2013, the total revenue obtained from mobile services in the country amounted to 350.4 million manat.

Mobile phone IMEI-code registration system (a unique code that is assigned by the manufacturing plant) has been launched in Azerbaijan since May 1.

The project involves the mobile operators and state agencies of Azerbaijan. The State Customs Committee controls and registers mobile phones imported in the country. The Communication and IT Ministry is a regulator of the project.

The mobile operators conducted the necessary operations within the project to create the IMEI-code information base. From now on it is necessary to register the mobile phones imported into the territory of the republic for private use within 30 days (in the networks of Azerbaijani mobile operators). These rules do not apply to the tourists and visitors arriving in Azerbaijan. Their mobile phones are served in roaming.

The new system allows getting the accurate information about the state of the mobile phone market (a market volume, the number of imported legal and illegal products).

The broadband Internet penetration rate in the service area of Aztelekom Production Association of the Azerbaijani Communication and IT Ministry hits 20.2 percent.

The number of broadband Internet users in the production association's network has increased by 19 per cent since early 2013. Currently, the number of broadband connections in the network exceeds 136,000.

Around 11 new automatic exchanges were commissioned by the production association in Yevlakh, Mingachevir, Yardimli, Kurdamir, Agdash, Zaqatala, Goranboy and Agstafa regions to expand the number of users of broadband services.

The production association has laid 224 kilometres of fibre-optic cable line since early 2013.

The operations on telephonization have also been completed in 10 settlements in Hajigabul, Tartar, Goygol, Agdash, Astara and Ismayilli regions. The previously used satellite equipment has been taken out of service to provide the population with telephone communication.

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