AT THE SPEED OF LIGHT

Alongside plans to connect to the new trans-national IP lines and the East-West project, in the next few years a high-speed network for data exchange will be established within the country. This will mean the introduction of the Next Generation Network (NGN), which enables high-speed data transmission via optical communication channels. Another initiative should see the development of high-speed wireless communications, in particular of WiMax. The implementation of projects to create a modern architecture for high-speed information networks is now in its third year, and today their services are within the reach of more than 300,000 people.

Optics replace copper cables

Today, the NGN is the latest platform for high-speed (several terabits per second) data transmission and provides audio and video links via optical communication channels. This may be compared figuratively with the construction of a high quality multi-lane highway, on which all kinds of vehicles - from huge trucks and buses to cars - scurry about freely.

This technology is qualitatively different from traditional phone lines, with their eternal problems - low speed, interference and restrictions on the volume of traffic. In contrast, NGN technology provides high-speed Internet, multi-functional phone and video links via IP-protocol, simultaneous videoconferencing for up to 60 or more subscribers, and also makes it possible to introduce Triple Play and IP-TV services with the capacity to receive up to 100 television channels and other multimedia services. The introduction of the high-speed network will create new kinds of services, including instant messaging, file transfer and access to basic applications. This system will benefit virtually all sectors of the economy and public life - from the education system and the banking sector to fiscal authorities, as well as various ministries, private companies and ordinary citizens.

It is notable that the introduction of separate NGN elements to Azerbaijan began back in 2005: these first pilot projects were implemented in metropolitan communications. The creation of the first regional NGN network began in Samaxi District in 2007 under the pilot project Electronic Samaxi, implemented by the Aztelecom production association, a structural unit of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT). On the basis of 23 telecommunication facilities in Samaxi District, an NGN network was created with a capacity of 20,000 telephone numbers, with access to all 21 types of broadband services. 

Since late 2007, the ministry has been implementing several projects to introduce this technology to the communication systems of Greater Baku, Sumqayit, Ganca and several regional centres. Currently, Aztelecom is completing the transfer to NGN technology of all telephone stations in the capital and its suburbs. Work has begun in Sumqayit, Ganca etc. Equipment made by the Slovenian company Iskratel is being used to create the NGN in the Abseron Peninsula. Having won an Aztelecom tender several years ago, the company helped to create a high-speed data network in Samaxi. The most ambitious project was undertaken in Xirdalan, based on the ATS-442 which supports networks in other parts of the Abseron Peninsula. As a result, more than 45,000 subscribers in the capital's suburbs have access to high-speed (at least 2 megabits per second) communication lines.

In parallel, similar work is being carried out in Sumqayit; the contractor here is the Azerbaijani company Komplas. Following the introduction of a high-speed network, the chemical city will have more than 12,000 new telephone numbers. In the first half of this year, the Ministry of Communications introduced about 8,000 new numbers in Ganca, as well as a modernized NGN system for more than two-thirds of the automatic telephone stations (ATS) based there. Next on the list for connection to the broadband high-speed data system are the telecommunication centres in Salyan, Goycay, Neftcala, Samkir, Agdas and Kurdamir. Tenders have been announced for the reconstruction of equipment in the ATS's and on communication lines, based on NGN technology. Several more projects are in the pipeline in Naftalan, Agcabadi and Calilabad. The most ambitious of the MCIT's regional projects will be implemented in the Naxcivan Autonomous Republic. The introduction of NGN technology to Naxcivan will be conducted in four phases until 2015: in the first stage of the project, the Chinese company Huawei Technologies will replace obsolete ATS's with next generation electronic stations in the capital of the autonomy, as well as in the villages of Babak and Nehram by spring of next year, increasing their capacity to 8,000 numbers. In the future, the NGN network will be expanded to the Sarur, Sadarak, Culfa, Ordubad and Sahbuz districts, as well as to the remaining villages of the Babak District.

In total, the NGN network in Azerbaijan already covers more than 300,000 phone numbers serviced by the production associations Aztelecom and Baku Telephone Network. "Today 85 per cent of the country's ATS's are electronic. All telephone exchanges in the capital will be transferred to NGN technology by the middle of next year and, in the next few years, this process will be completed in the regions of the country as well," noted Minister of Communications and Information Technology Ali Abbasov.

WiMax is cheaper than cable systems

New generation systems, in particular WiMax technology, could be another option for high-speed data transmission. This form of communication is much cheaper than cable systems. This is especially noticeable when providing high-speed broadband Internet services with geographically remote or sparsely populated rural regions. Unfortunately, Wi-Fi and WiMax radio access services are underdeveloped in our country. Three years ago, the Ultra company was one of the first in Baku to install Wi-Fi, opening Azerbaijan's first public wireless internet access point - a hot-spot. The leading provider of wireless Wi-Fi access in the capital and its suburbs today is Elcell (trademark of JV DataCeM LLC). Another company - AzQtel - is expanding the coverage area of wireless access by WiMax technology in Baku and the Abseron Peninsula, and soon in Ganca as well. Nevertheless, a significant shortcoming of wireless Internet access is the lack of network coverage in different parts of the capital. Despite the standards declared by providers, in Baku there are many "dead" zones, where reception is generally impossible or is intermittent. The main factors driving customers away are the high price of radio modems and high subscription fees.

A real revolution in the development of wireless networks is expected after the implementation of projects by the Azerbaijani state-owned company Delta Telekom, which, together with Alcatel-Lucent, plans to launch a large-scale system of Internet access - WiMax - by the end of this year. The throughput capacity of the WiMax network will be 4.4 Gbit/s, and it will provide coverage within Baku and the Abseron Peninsula, where 110 base stations have been deployed. In parallel, the company is expanding its WiMax network at regional level. Work is under way in Quba, Ganca, Astara and other areas. The total number of base stations at regional level will be 140 units. At the end of the year, Delta Telekom plans to launch Mobile WiMax - commercial wireless broadband access. The company has already conducted a presentation of user equipment provided by USB modems, Express Card adapters and WiMax modems.

The devices will be available for retail sale in the near future. The network being created by Delta Telekom will help raise mobile broadband access to a new level, due to the ultra-high data transfer speeds required for the use of Internet television, mobile video blogs, online video games etc.

As a result, the introduction of NGN and WiMax technologies will make it possible to reduce dramatically the cost of user access to high-speed broadband Internet services.