Minister of Communications and High Technologies of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ramin Guluzade gave interview to Trend news agency:



There is a need to expand the use of electronic services in the regions of Azerbaijan and  rehabilitate the sector

- What was remarkable in the development of the ICT sector in Azerbaijan? What are the challenges facing the industry in the short term, given the transition of the country to non-oil export-oriented economy?

- Azerbaijan is the most dynamically developing country of the region and the economic development covers all areas. The sustainable development of the information and communication technologies sector is an integral part of economic and political reforms carried out by President Ilham Aliyev.

 As you know, various state programs are being implemented in Azerbaijan to achieve the comprehensive development of the non-oil sector. These programs make it necessary to move the ICT sector to a qualitatively new level. That is, it is a requirement of the day.

Azerbaijan is the first and the only country in the South Caucasus to adopt the strategy of transition to an information society. In general, Azerbaijan is one of the few countries which has adopted such a strategy. Speaking of the greatest successes that have been achieved by Azerbaijan in the ICT field in recent years, first of all, I would like to note that Azerbaijan is the only country in the region which has a space industry.  At the same time, the Electronic Government system has been developed in the country; the application of electronic signature has been expanded, which has given a strong impetus to the advancement of the ICT field; 4G service – the latest technology in the mobile telephone network system – has been introduced in Azerbaijan, which makes it possible for people to access the high speed internet from anywhere in the country.  Also, the territory of the republic is now covered by digital television broadcasting, etc. 

The sphere of communications and high technologies can be considered as the most dynamically developing sector. Naturally, we should at least keep track of the world’s trends, to keep up with technological innovations. Serious projects are being realized today in the country to that end.

 Of course, ICT is an important area in terms of sustainable development, strengthening of intellectual potential and development of transparency in the society. And we were assigned specific tasks in this respect.

The work carried out today in this area is aimed at increasing both the quantity and quality of electronic services that are being provided to the population. Making services online and their maximum availability for citizens is one of main tasks facing us.

 I would like to emphasize that the project Electronic Government, as one of the priority areas, remains in the centre of attention of the Head of State. The purpose of this project is to provide citizens with high-quality online services of government agencies and bring the “citizen –government” and “citizen-official” relations to a healthier and modern format.

It is gratifying that state bodies are interested in integrating more services into the E-government portal. So, over time, citizens will be able to get even more online services.
 

- Are you satisfied with the current level of Internet penetration in Azerbaijan and what work is being done in this direction?

-Today, the main issue, along with the Internet penetration rate, is increasing the quality and speed of the Internet. At the present time more than 75 percent of Azerbaijan’s population has access to the internet, which is a good indicator. But do all these people enjoy the high quality Internet? Unfortunately, it is impossible to give a definite answer to this question. The ongoing monitoring, technical audits and the analysis of the surveys held among internet users indicate that much remains to be done. In fact, it is a continuous process. This area is developing so rapidly that yesterday’s technological innovations are considered obsolete today.

Construction of a high-speed fiber-optic cable network intended to cover all residential areas in the country is underway.  This means that the broadband network will provide the whole population of the country with high-quality Internet and telecommunications services. The aim of the project is to provide each apartment in the country with 100 megabits/sec internet speed, IP TV (Internet TV) and telephone services. Thus, the new infrastructure will provide simultaneously the citizens of the republic with the three services of high quality. The implementation of the projects has already launched in the territory of Baku. Naturally, one of major challenges ahead is the formation of a healthy competitive environment through the creation of a good infrastructure. There is a need to expand the application of electronic services in the regions of Azerbaijan and rehabilitate the sector. One of the main goals of this project is to create favourable conditions for the effective operation of providers. The infrastructure must meet modern standards at that time the quality of the services will be high.
 

- Does Azerbaijan plan to use the experience of other countries in the creation of country’s datacenter where citizens’ personal data is transferred from social networks and saved?

- One of main working principles of corporations like Google, Facebook, Twitter is to ensure the protection of user data. For that, the basic requirement is the availability of a database meeting the required standards.

Today, one of the main issues is to turn the republic into a transit information centre in the region. Creation of a regional datacenter brings us a step closer to the realization of this objective.

The regional datacenter, created by the Ministry of Communications and High Technologies is the first certified centre in Azerbaijan and in the whole Caucasus region. The center has successfully passed the test check and it will be put into operation by the end of this year.

Telephone operators, financial institutions, small and medium-sized businesses, as well as various organizations will be able to use the datacenter to protect and store information. The datacenter will ensure protection of processed information from external interferences.  At the same time, the datacenter will serve as an alternative supplier of international traffic, which is important from a strategic point of view. Large global companies providing IT services will be able to create their own infrastructures in the datacenter.

- What reforms are expected in the postal field in terms of providing new financial services, including granting loans and acceptance of deposits?

 - Postal services sector is one of the areas of the telecommunications market which is being used by population most of all and this area should be constantly improved.  Of course, if we talk of the development of Azerpost LLC, the implementation of reforms and launch of new services in the field of postal services is a requirement of the time. We believe that we will be able to build national postal services capable of keeping up with the times and meeting all up-to-date requirements.

As you know, Azerpost LLC, along with traditional postal services, provides financial services. Today, citizens are able to conveniently use both international and local money transfer services. In general, Azerpost LLC intends to increase the quality of all its financial services. And the preference will be given to electronic payments.

Besides that, work is underway to expand the scope of express mail services and we try to bring this type of services to the level of international standards. As in other areas, we are considering the possibility of transformation of Azerbaijan’s postal system into the international transit hub.

Azerpost LLC has the most extensive network in the country with the number of its branches reaching 1,600.Introducing new services, including financial ones, we are trying to make this benefit of the postal operator even more useful for citizens. Based on the license issued by the Central Bank of Azerbaijan, financial services, except for granting loans and acceptance of deposits, are being provided to citizens in more than one thousand post offices of Azerpost LLC.

However, the question of the launch of these two services may be considered after the formation of necessary legal framework.

 - The ministry carried out an audit of cable-conduit lines. It was revealed that they are overloaded because their installation does not meet the requirements. Does this mean that from now on every operator will not be able to lay their own optic cables on cable-conduit system and they will be offered a single infrastructure to provide services to their subscribers?

- For years, cable conduit facilities have not been used in accordance with the accepted standards. It should be noted that during the audit carried out by us revealed numerous facts of illegal installation. As a result of these shortcomings, the normal operation of this infrastructure has become impossible. Currently, work is underway to eliminate these shortcomings.

Using cable conduit facilities providers were able to build their own cable networks. Intensive placement and increase in the number of cable channels has led to overloading the existing wells above the norm. And this, in turn, prevents bringing optics to end-user.

Therefore, we continue carrying out activities in this area. Initially, the cabling infrastructure of Baku city will be brought up to the required standard. Then, the optical cable network will be created for each destination.  The equipment of telephone hubs will be replaced with the latest-generation systems.

Providers are being offered alternative ports of 100 Mbit/s - 1 Gbit/s capacity to support the development of private networks. As a result of these measures, we will be able to provide stable high-quality communication services meeting modern standards.

- Currently, certain reforms are being carried out in the ministry. Which areas do they cover?

- The reforms carried out in the ministry are part of the multifaceted reforms that are being conducted in the country. They are aimed at the development of the country as a whole and in particular, the sphere of communications and high technologies.

Of course, radical reforms require a comprehensive approach. We are carrying out reforms in the areas of infrastructure, logistics, technology and human resources. At the same time, we pay special attention to the issue of social protection of our employees. Improving social welfare of workers is an integral part of these reforms.

There are highly qualified specialists with many years of experience in the telecommunications sector of Azerbaijan. However, there is always a need for personnel keeping track of the pace of modern development and a new approach. Therefore, we engage a more professional staff in our activity. Along with this, we organize training courses to improve the skills and knowledge of employees and create opportunities for cooperation with foreign experts. Work is underway at the international level to expand the cooperation with a number of influential organizations.

 It should be noted that the reforms in the sphere of communications and high technologies cover the entire territory of the country. However, it is not possible to obtain results everywhere and at the same time. New telecommunication projects are being simultaneously implemented in the capital and regions of the country.

The reforms cover the postal sector, telecommunications sector and other segments.

For example, pilot projects are being developed in order to improve the quality of services provided by telecommunications centers and provide new services to users.  As a result of the realization of the projects, the residents of the regions will be provided with high-quality communication, internet and IP-TV services.

 Of course, the achievement of these goals will take time and in the near future we will see concrete results of the reforms.

  - What concerns are expressed in the appeals coming from citizens? And how is the work organized with citizens?

- We regularly meet with citizens both in Baku and in regions to listen to their suggestions, comments and complaints. Most of the appeals are related to the telecommunications, Internet, postal services and employment. We always try to solve the majority of issues on the spot.

Considering the fact that the ICT sector covers the services sector, we are working directly with citizens and therefore, we consider every appeal very carefully. Currently, citizens’ appeals are accepted via the “hot lines” of structural subdivisions of the ministry and through emails and social networks. Each appeal is thoroughly studied and assessed.

To this end, we want to build a customer service center which, along with improving the quality of reception of citizens’ appeals, will allow us to respond quickly to them. This is very important, given that this area has a wide audience of users. Because the user satisfaction is one of main issues.

It is important to eliminate existing problems and shortcomings as a result of the reforms. That is why speaking out about the problems citizens help us. After analyzing the received information, we can see more clearly the current situation in each area. This helps us to determine our next steps.

 - Do you use social networks, and we would like to know your opinion on practice of “questions and answers” through social networks?

 - Yes, I do. Because today social networks have become the most active means of communication. I can say that every day I keep track of issues related to the activities of the ministry. As you know, the ministry has pages on social networks, which serve as a method of communication with citizens. In addition to our “hot line”, we regularly receive complaints and appeals from citizens through social networks. And in fact, as you mentioned, conducting the “questions and answers” through social networks is very useful.  In other words, social networks play an important role in terms of the establishment of direct and rapid communication with citizens.