Plan for development of broadband Internet in Azerbaijan promotes public-private partnerships

Action plan for the development of broadband Internet access in Azerbaijan promotes public-private partnerships PPP, the Internet community of Azerbaijan (ISOC Azerbaijan) reported.

Action plan was prepared by Azerin, according to the contract signed with the Ministry of Communications and Information Technologies of Azerbaijan.

According to the Ministry, about 350 million manat will be invested in its implementation in the next three years. Negotiations of the Ministry for this project with the State Oil Fund are in the final stage. According to information provided by Azerin company, one of the important aspects in the plan of action is to achieve in partnership with public and private sectors the introduction of broadband Internet in every village, including in remote areas of the country. At the same time, access to the network must be technically accessible, and affordable.

The action plan noted the importance of creating a fund for development of broadband services for meeting the needs of the population in the broadband services, in particular the development of e-learning, e-medicine, e-banking, e-commerce and other electronic services.

Further the increase in computer literacy, the establishment of free connection public places near the state and municipal buildings, etc is considered. Unlike competitive capital market, where broadband infrastructure's creation is being accelerated, the development of Internet infrastructure in the regions requires government support and promotion of these activities in accordance with international practice. Today program for the development of broadband Internet has been adopted in most countries.

Advanced countries in this field are Korea and Sweden, particularly Korea is implementing the fourth such program. On the other hand, it is also a priority for the UN, which puts the development of broadband infrastructure in line with the development of railway infrastructure, power grids, roads, etc.

An essential role in connecting to the internet of remote areas, according to experts, will be played by satellite program of Azerbaijan (Azerbaijani telecommunications satellite Azerspace-1, whose putting into orbit is expected in early 2013), as well as the creation of several alternative backbone-networks.