IN THE FOREFRONT OF THE WORLD TREND

Non-verbal forms of interaction have acquired a dominant position in mobile communications in recent years. The growing use of the Internet by mobile subscribers forces cellular service providers to improve network equipment by increasing its capacity and speed. That is why LTE networks are extensively being built all over the world, including in Azerbaijan. With the development of this trend, mobile network operators of Azerbaijan are planning to abandon the traditional GSM standard in favour of VoLTE technology in the next two years.

Less than a second

The abbreviation VoLTE stands for "Voice over LTE", which means transmitting voice as a stream of data via LTE networks. In 2010, the GSM Association (GSMA) announced a method of transmitting voice over data transferred online, based on IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) standards. This technology has up to three times more voice and data capacity than 3G UMTS and up to six times more than traditional 2G GSM networks. The introduction of VoLTE will enable operators to offload 2G and 3G networks from voice traffic, use frequencies more economically and improve communication quality by obviating the need for switching between the types of networks. The latter is a very important aspect because today, operators must reconnect between UMTS and GSM networks depending on whether a smartphone owner is using the Internet channel or making a voice call. Significantly, the connection made by the VoLTE system is faster - usually about one second, or even less, as against typical 10 seconds in GSM networks. Voice quality and noise immunity is much higher and power consumption is lower in VoLTE networks, which will allow smartphone owners to save battery power. It is also important that VoLTE subscribers will be able to get an extended package of multimedia services, in particular, to exchange messages and files without having to install additional applications, thereby sparing smartphone memory resources.

VoLTE technology is a relatively new concept in the field of mobile communications, and only a small number of market participants have joined in its commercial operation to date. Thus, in May 2014, Singapore-based SingTel introduced the world's first full-featured commercial VoLTE service. That same year, two mobile operators from South Korea and China started to use components of this system for the purpose of roaming. Today, VoLTE technology has also been implemented by MetroPCS, a US company. The development of VoLTE corresponds to a currently dominant global trend whereby voice traffic migrates to the Internet. Already in 2013, income from ordinary calls constituted no more than 50 per cent of all receipts of mobile operators, which is the world's average figure. Based on forecasts for the next year or two, this figure will drop even further. According to many experts, data transmission via Internet links is going to become the dominant trend in mobile telephony by 2020, while more than a quarter of calls made by subscribers of cellular companies in the world will be processed with the use of VoLTE technology. This trend is indirectly confirmed by significantly increased volumes of worldwide production and sales of smartphones and other mobile devices with a built-in LTE module.

Prospects in Azerbaijan

How are LTE networks being developed in Azerbaijan, and to what extent is the country ready for the adoption of 4G communication standards?

The country's first 3G network was put into operation by Azerfon quite recently - in December 2009, and in November 2012 similar systems were launched by other mobile network operators - Azercell Telecom and Bakcell. However, progress in science and technology is spurring market participants to introduce 4G networks, which represent the next technological level and are based on Long Term Evolution (LTE) technology. The rapid pace of innovation is reflected by the fact that already in 2013, Azerbaijan ranked 9th in Europe and 37th in the world among countries that pioneered the adoption of 4G mobile technology. We are talking about the most popular and potentially most profitable area - the introduction of fourth-generation standards, which combine high-speed mobile access to broadband Internet channels and a high-quality radiocommunication technology. Their introduction has enabled, in particular, ultra-broadband Internet access and streaming multimedia content, including watching video in Full HD format and music streaming. This is not to mention the possibility to make essentially cheap international calls through instant messengers.

Azercell Telecom was the first company in Azerbaijan - and third in the CIS, after the Russian operators MTS and MegaFone - to provide 4G services. Since May this year, commercial services in 4G LTE networks have also been provided by Bakcell. By the beginning of 2016, such services will be available to subscribers in the capital and the Abseron Peninsula, and as of 2018 - in most of the regions of the country. Azerfon, the country's third mobile operator, seeks to keep abreast with competitors. According to its CEO Kent McNeely, the company will start providing 4G services in the near future.

It is noteworthy that, until recently, relatively expensive 4G services were mainly sought after by corporate users. However, local operators are working proactively and expand data transfer services. Given that 4G services are provided in Azerbaijan by all three operators, one can expect a significant decrease in prices for broadband Internet any time soon.

The Ministry of Communications and High Technologies (MCHT) of Azerbaijan completely supports the efforts of the operators in developing 4G networks throughout the country. According to MCHT experts, at present, 3G networks are fairly widely deployed in the whole of Azerbaijan, whereas 4G services are only available in Baku and the Abseron Peninsula. "In order to expand the LTE network, market participants will be allowed to use new frequencies," First Deputy Minister of Communications and High Technologies Iltimas Mammadov said. "We intend to promote 4G technology to the remotest corners of Azerbaijan and provide all citizens with quality connection and broadband Internet".

Mammadov also noted that the provision of voice services based on VoLTE technology would soon be possible in the country. The local operators already started to work in this direction. Moreover, according to Mammadov, with the development of LTE networks, local mobile service providers will scale back GSM networks. This is not surprising, given that the income derived from traditional voice communication services has been steadily declining amid rising profits from high-speed data transmission services. That is, the development of LTE networks will be the main instrument for raising profitability of local cellular companies in the coming years.

Thus, the abandonment of traditional GSM technologies may occur within the next two years, and this fully fits into the global trend.