I WANT TO KNOW WHAT I AM PAYING FOR

Before the appearance of a third mobile operator, many wondered whether we needed another one when we already had two which have held the market for the last 10 years. "In conditions of tough competition, all means are good for a place in the sun," this is the principle employed by time-servers or, figuratively speaking, kings for a day. And the consumer is no longer the same, as he knows what is what. Incidentally, the appearance of a third, and maybe fourth mobile operator in the near future, plays into his hands. The tougher the competition, the better for the consumer, because he is the one who decides who should stay and who should go.

The reader, consumer, or simply observer, will probably be interested to know what the Azerfon limited liability company offers the market today and what principles are employed by a company  which came third but wants to be first.

We put our questions to the director-general of Azerfon, John Armley.

- Several months ago, the Azerfon limited liability company started providing services under the brand name of Nar Mobile on the mobile communications market in Azerbaijan. What interest has there been in the services of the new operator and how many Nar Mobile users are there at the moment?

- Let's be objective: we can talk eloquently about the extent of interest in the new operator for a long time, but you would agree that figures look more convincing - in three months alone, the number of our company's customers exceeded 100,000. There are various reasons for this but, in my opinion, the main reason is that our entry into the market was non-standard and different. The choice of name for the trade mark - Nar Mobile - was an important and decisive moment. This word is associated with the rich history and ancient traditions of the Azerbaijani people. Another association with our brand is constant attention to the customer. The key principle of business philosophy is that it is not enough to be simply active, it is necessary to offer new types of services on the market. People should have the right to choose.

- Azerfon is the third mobile operator in Azerbaijan. What network of customers and share of the market does the company hope to have?

- Yes, we were third to the market, but we intend to be first - this is our ambition. As it were, every soldier wants to be a general. Today we can cater for a network of more than 500,000 consumers but, by the end of the year, we hope to double this figure, it will be equal to one million. Expanding, we will constantly improve our work to provide the population with services of higher quality.

- What are the advantages of Azerfon services compared to similar services offered to Azerbaijani consumers? How attractive are the tariffs of Nar Mobile services? What are your plans to encourage customers in the future?

- The philosophy behind our pricing policy has its own distinctive features. If the pricing policy of mobile operators currently on the market is based on phone cards, we have our own view on this issue. I believe that this principle does not provide the necessary transparency and clarity, hiding the real cost of services in some way. From the very beginning of our activities, one of our basic principles has been that of maximum transparency. The customer should know what he is paying for and how much. Our duty is to provide our customer with access to information on how much he pays for his phone calls. This is the customer's right and he should be in no doubt about this issue.

Our tariffs are also attractive in terms of our flexible pricing policy, that is to say our services are not too expensive. As our network expands, our services will become cheaper. We are working on mechanisms to "reduce" prices in a specific and single-minded way. As a result of our negotiations with the Aztelecom company, we pay 35 per cent less for calls to a Nar Mobile number from a landline telephone. We started a campaign of bonuses for the summer because this is the time when people communicate most of all. As part of this campaign, our prices have been reduced by 50 per cent. This bonus programme will include a 50-per-cent discount on prices for GPRS services while choosing packages, offering at the same time good speed and quality on the link. This offer is unique and will allow Nar Mobile customers to communicate more.

- When Azerfon started offering its services, you announced that 80 per cent of Azerbaijani territory will be covered by your own network and national roaming. Is your company planning to cover 100 per cent of the country's territory without national roaming and when will it happen?

- We are not specifically talking about 50 or 80 per cent. Our final goal is to cover the whole territory of the country with our own network. After a positive settlement of Karabakh and the restoration of the country's territorial integrity, we will be able to talk about 100 per cent, of course. After the completion of this work, we will be able to work without national roaming as our network will constantly expand.

- Talking about coverage, it would be interesting to know how many countries Azerfon roaming covers and what expansion plans you have.

- We can say that we have established contacts with 217 countries and have signed contracts with 430 mobile operators, which is actually a large coverage area. But we continue to work actively in this direction. I can say from my own experience that there are very few companies that have achieved as much as Azerfon in such a short period of time.

- And in conclusion, what can you say about business conditions in Azerbaijan? What problems does the company encounter on the market?

- As a matter of fact, I can see two subjects of discussion here: it is necessary to take account of the level and pace of development of the national economy on the one hand and the peculiarities of the market economy in general. They are not always the same. Since there are certain mechanisms and ways of entering the market in market economy conditions, there is the experience of other countries.

Of course, our entry into the market encounters certain problems which are natural and which we have to take into account. But I would like to point out that we are in favour of a healthy and, what is more important, open struggle for the market and of the civilized ways and means of competition accepted in all progressive countries of the world. The appearance of a third mobile operator on the market - we are talking about the principle, not just Azerfon - has shaken up this market, giving it a certain impetus and woken up not only the operators themselves, but also consumers.

The key to the success of a strong economy is the development of one of its progressive sectors - the sphere of telecommunications. In Azerbaijan, the state pays great attention to this issue. The information-communications network resembles arteries that hold a living body together.

Azerfon's desire to be one of the components of a strong information-technological platform in the country's economy coincides with the national interests of the state in the best possible way.