EPEG project to reduce Internet cost in Azerbaijan

The Europe Persia Express Gateway (EPEG) cable line project will play an important role in expanding the capacities of the Azerbaijani segment of the Internet, Azerbaijani Deputy Communications and IT Minister Iltimas Mammadov told journalists.

If the total traffic volume coming into the country is 45 Gbps today, the traffic volume will later be calculated by the terabyte. "Increasing the volume of Internet traffic transit through Azerbaijan will impact the fees for Internet services," he added.

Mammadov said Azerbaijan is represented by Delta Telecom in the EPEG project, but other operators may be involved in case of necessity.

Commenting on the competition between the projects of TASIM and EPEG, he said EPEG does not compete with the East-West transnational super informational highway project, but rather complements its goals.

The cost of constructing the Azerbaijani section of the EPEG cable line, according to preliminary calculations, will be approximately $3 million, Mr.Mammadov said earlier. The EPEG partners are the Iranian TIC, Omani Omantel, Russian Rostelecom and Azerbaijani Delta Teleco.

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