THE ACCESS ZONE

Thanks to a rapid growth in the number of devices that support Wi-Fi technology, a network of public hot spots has been created in most major cities of the world in the last decade to provide free access to the Internet. A similar system of public hot spots is being developed in Azerbaijan that covers primarily educational and scientific institutions, historical, cultural and tourist centers, squares and parks, transport hubs, etc. However, the development of public Wi-Fi networks requires monetization of operators, maintenance of high quality service and safety of users.

The systems providing access to the Internet have developed in parallel with the improvement and miniaturization of computer equipment from bulky stationary computers connected to the Internet via telephone lines to relatively compact laptops with wireless data transfer and to miniature tablets and smartphones with mobile internet. As the size of computer equipment decreased, demand for network access outside apartments, offices, educational and scientific institutions increased. Access to the Internet has ceased to be local, hence becoming an important market trend that stimulated the development of network services of mobile telecom operators, which are the main source of profit for cellular companies, often overtaking traditional voice communications.

However, the Internet provided by mobile operators is still relatively expensive, especially when comparing LTE (4G) networks most suitable for transferring heavy content with local optical cable access. Due to these factors, LTE networks established in recent years have not yet received wide distribution in Azerbaijan, and the demand for 4G services is limited mainly to Baku and its environs.

Meanwhile, a compromise has been found long time ago to resolve this contradiction. It is now possible to combine comparatively high speeds of transmission of heavy content through cable connection with the advantages of autonomous Internet access via mobile communication.

It is about the Wi-Fi system developed back in the 90s and evolved into a whole family of standards for the transmission of digital data over radio channels. Initially, this system was designed for individual and corporate segments of economy (banks, offices, large retail chains). However, during the last decade, Wi-Fi standard has become intensely popular in the largest cities of the world providing free access points covering historical centers, parks, tourist areas, hotels, restaurants, cafes, stations, airports, universities and libraries.

The advantages of Wi-Fi connection are quite obvious: it can be created without cable laying, which reduces the cost of network deployment or expansion. Where cable laying is technically impossible (eg., outdoors or inside historical buildings), wireless networks can be used. Due to a wide distribution of Wi-Fi-enabled gadgets and their compatibility with this standard, the connection to the network does not depend on the type of device and its characteristics or the telephone service of various communication operators. Connection to Wi-Fi (within the coverage area of ​​the network) provides the same mobility as when accessing the Internet through network services of mobile operators. Wi-Fi allows you to access the network using both phones and laptops, tablets and other types of devices. Finally, it is important that the dangerous electromagnetic radiation from the Wi-Fi devices at the time of data transfer is ten times lower than that of a cell phone.

The West (primarily North America and Europe) has quickly recognized the advantages of Wi-Fi- hot spots. Free Internet access zones created at university campuses and scientific institutions have soon spread in other directions.

In fact, the apparent free nature of this service is true to some degree. Free Wi-Fi at airports and onboard airliners, train, banks, large shopping centers and tourist areas, hotels and restaurants is included as part of the cost of commercial companies or is subsidized as part of advertising and promotion of their goods and services.

A similar situation is existing in Azerbaijan: today, customers of small or large restaurants or hotels in any part of the country will be provided with a Wi-Fi access code. Obviously, the apparent free nature of this service is actually compensated by paying bills for other services. Transport companies cover the costs of "free Internet" in a similar manner. In particular, the ticket price automatically provides free access to Wi-Fi networks onboard of AZAL aircraft (this service is provided by Azerfon). The same principle applies to the cost of free Internet when buying a ticket for the new KISS train by Stadler Rail Group operating between Baku and Sumgayit.

In recent years, local GSM operators Azercell Telecom and Bakcell are actively creating Wi-Fi networks covering higher educational institutions and scientific institutions, shopping and entertainment centers, parks and public places in Baku. Mobile operators are interested in Wi-Fi networks commercially, which require the activation of an Internet package, but it is still cheaper than sending data over the G3-G4 networks. Unfortunately, such networks are tailored exclusively for the customers of mobile operators. For example, the owners of smartphones with Azercell SIM cards will not be able to access the network through Bakcell’s Wi-Fi access points and vice versa.

In fact, today Azerbaijan seriously needs a system providing completely free and universal connection to Wi-Fi networks.

Such free hot spots have been actively established by municipalities of several cities of the U.S. and Europe in historical cities, railway stations, transport hubs, campuses of large universities, public libraries and cover large public and state institutions. Moreover, last December the EU Council decided to promote the creation of a system of local wireless Wi-Fi access points in municipal buildings, city parks and other community centers through the EU funded system WiFi4EU. The EU Council believes that the creation of such a large-scale system contributes to the development of local digital services, such as e-government, and will increase the demand for online services.

It is obvious that the establishment of a similar and capital-intensive project is still difficult in Azerbaijan. "Free Wi-Fi network covering the entire territory of Azerbaijan will not be available soon, since our country is not yet ready for it financially. Technical solution for such an ambitious project will require about ₼100 million," said the chairman of the Center for Sustainable Development Studies, expert Nariman Aghayev. This cost does not involve operating costs including the payment of service providers for access to the Internet. Nevertheless, according to the expert, free Internet is possible at public places of Baku.

Based on the experience of developed countries, free hot spots independent of a particular cellular network have been actively created in Baku during the recent years. Baku Expo Center and the Heydar Aliyev International Airport have provided free Wi-Fi access for a long time. Wi-Fi network is also being created at the Baku Metro. With the support of international organization IREX, free hot spots have been available at four universities of Baku since 2011. Ten Azerbaijani universities are connected to the scientific computer network AzScienceNet of the Institute of Information Technologies of the National Academy of Sciences of Azerbaijan and provide free Wi-Fi services, Eduroam educational roaming, clouding, hosting and other electronic services. At the initiative of the Ministry of Education, free Wi-Fi networks are functioning at 32 secondary schools participating in the e-School project.

Hot spots are also established at important recreation and tourism centers of Baku. This process was launched about six years ago with the first Wi-Fi network (ZTE equipment) on the territory of the State Historical and Architectural Reserve "Icheri Sheher", which provides 33 access points and more than two thousand connections in total. It provides the tourists and holidaymakers free access to an electronic guide and a limited list of Internet resources.

Another large-scale project was launched in 2012 in preparation for the Eurovision Song Contest, covering the territory of the National Seaside Park. Today, 122 Wi-Fi access points are installed on the boulevard and the State Flag Square, which can simultaneously serve about 8,000 users. The Chinese company Huawei is a supplier and partner of the Production Association Baku Telephone Communications of the Ministry of Transport, Communications and High Technologies of Azerbaijan for the implementation of this project.

"Huawei is supporting the Ministry of Communications to implement the Smart City project in Baku and in the regions. The Public Wi-Fi project is one of the elements that may interest tourists. Baku has a potential to attract tourists like Barcelona or Dubai, where similar projects have already been implemented," said Vice President of Huawei for Central Asia and the Caucasus region, Marco Hu.

Over the past year, Baku Telephone Communications (Baktelecom) has significantly expanded the coverage of free Wi-Fi spots for the residents of Baku. This process was considerably accelerated before the 4^th Islamic Solidarity Games held in Baku. In particular, free hot spots were created in the territory of Huseyn Javid Park, Heydar Aliyev Park, Winter Park, Sahil, Akhundov, Sabir and Khagani parks. In the near future, free access to Wi-Fi will also cover the territory of the Dede Gorgud Park.

Connection to free hotspots is quite simple: to access the service, you need to enable the Wi-Fi detection option on your mobile device, select the network Baku loves you and go through the identification using your mobile phone number. You will get a text message with your access code to the Internet.

But unlike a fixed or mobile access to the Internet, access via free hot spots in Baku is subject to a number of limitations and difficulties. In particular, the authorization code will be valid for three hours, and it can be used only on one device. In addition, the user can use free Wi-Fi only for one hour. To extend the time limit, the user must again go through a similar authorization procedure, and during the day additional access is possible only two more times.

However, this is not the only problem of public hot spots. First, free Wi-Fi is not intended for viewing "heavy" content. Reading the news, access to service sites, social networks or instant messengers such as WhatsApp is the maximum that the user can get. You will not be able to watch or download a multi-gigabyte HD movie. Moreover, during peak hours, when the network is loaded, clicking on a simple site can hang the loading of your browser. Unfortunately, free hot spots in Baku are not excellent as far as the data transfer speed is concerned.

However, access to free Internet is fraught with much more serious problems. The Internet connection through free Wi-Fi spots is not always safe because intruders can intercept personal data transmitted through a poorly protected channel. According to Kaspersky Lab, the users in such popular countries as Thailand and France are exposed to a very high level of danger when connecting to public networks - 43 and 40%, respectively.

It is unlikely that public Wi-Fi spots are encrypted, but it seems that anyone can take advantage of this vulnerability to steal data, which will purposefully receive private data on user accounts. The main objective of hackers who steal such information is getting access to bank and PayPal accounts.

It is not always safe to connect to Wi-Fi networks of cafes and stores that manage their connection through the Internet providers. They often want to know your date of birth, full name, phone number, and the device you are using. This information is of great value for marketing companies but, unfortunately, often turns into a real problem for users forced to get many advertising offers and other spam messages on their devices.

According to experts, connection to public Wi-Fi networks through a secure VPN (virtual private network) that masks network traffic and makes it unavailable to anyone can prevent many of these problems. But VPN does not guarantee full-blown protection. It is therefore necessary to use high-quality antivirus software, constantly update all installed programs and in no case lose vigilance when entering the public network.

The free hotspots and other forms of Wi-Fi networks created in Azerbaijan have become an important element of access to the global information space. We hope that the development of public hot spots will improve and simplify the access of Azerbaijani nationals to the Internet, hence reducing "digital inequality", as it follows from the UN decision adopted in 2011, which recognizes access to the Internet as an inalienable human right.