LEADERSHIP STANDARDS

Today, the ICT sector can be rightfully regarded as the most intensively developing sector in Azerbaijan's non-oil economy. This sphere has long since been marked as a priority vector in this country's industrial growth. No wonder that the telecommunications exhibitions held in Baku for the past two decades attract close attention from leading international organizations and IT companies. And last week's BakuTel 2015 exhibition is just another proof of this. 

The high dynamics of development in Azerbaijan's ICT sector has been repeatedly confirmed by numerous reports from international rating agencies and in surveys conducted by the UN, the International Monetary Fund, the World Economic Forum (WEF) and the most credible organization in this field - the International Telecommuni-cation Union (ITU). Thus, ITU experts believe that, in terms of the development level of its IT sector, Azerbaijan occupies its rightful place between the developed and the developing countries. It is no surprise that the country has been included among the world's top 10 most dynamically developing countries which have achieved high results in the ICT sphere over the past five-seven years. About one year ago, the ITU included Azerbaijan among 40 states featuring virtually full coverage of their territory with 3G mobile communications technologies. According to data from The State of Broadband 2015 report published by the ITU in September, the country has improved its position by six points placing 52nd among 189 states of the world in terms of the development level of fixed broadband Internet. 

The Measuring the Information Society 2015 report published by the ITU a few days ago, basing on the ICT Development Index, places Azerbaijan 67th improving its position compared to 2013 and 2010 by three and nine points, respectively. 

"For quite a long time, Azerbaijan has been ranked among countries developing their ICT sphere in the most dynamic way. The country has formed the foundation for information society: it has a functioning electronic government portal, a broadband Internet network, digital TV broadcasting and, since the Azerspace-1 and Azersky satellites were put into orbit, the country has jointed the global space community," Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev said in his welcome address to participants of the 21st exhibition BakuTel 2015. The country is also forming a network of high technology parks and business incubators; state funds are helping innovative start-ups. Azerbaijan is also acting as the initiator of Trans-Eurasian Super Information Highway (TASIM), an international megaproject supported by the UN. The country is also an active participant in the successfully implemented initiative to lay the Europe-Persia Express Gateway (EPEG). 

According to First Deputy Minister and Acting Minister of Communi-cations and High Technologies Ramin Quluzada, the now traditional BakuTel forums have transformed into an international platform providing the opportunity to build stable business contacts, exchange experience and have a closer look at our country. The acting minister laid special emphasis on the fact that this country has gained status as the region's leading state in space industry over the past few years. 

It is noteworthy that a most important international event timed to coincide with the BakuTel 2015 opening ceremony was also related to space exploration. Within the framework of the exhibition, a ceremony was held in the pavilion of Azerbaijan's satellite operator Azerkosmos to sign a contract with the French company Airanespace for putting Azerbaijan's second tele-communications satellite Azerspace-2 into orbit tentatively in 2017. The contract signing ceremony was attended by President Ilham Aliyev. 

Overall, the BakuTel 2015 forum organized by the Iteca Caspian company in the international Baku Expo Centre has reaffirmed the fact that, even under the global crisis, the world's leading IT companies have not lost interest in the development of information technologies in Azerbaijan. This exhibition presents 203 companies from 21 countries and many of the companies are permanent participants of this forum. Traditionally, much of the exposition is presented by foreign participants. This time, some 140 companies from Belgium, Germany, China, the UAE, Russia, the USA, Turkey, France, Hungary, Japan and other countries have attracted their guests' attention with programmes that are innovative not only for Azerbaijan but also for the entire Caspian region, as well as exclusive products and services in the ICT field. 

It is notable that interest in this country is not confined to sales of IT equipment or software solutions. The world's leading companies are showing readiness to place their production projects in Azerbaijan. Thus for instance, the Ministry of Communications and High Technologies decided in spring 2015 to create a High Tech Park (YTP) in Mingacevir. Infrastructural, scientific and production facilities and a business incubator for research and development work will be placed on a 1.3 ha plot of land on the grounds of the local enterprise KUR. As the Mingacevir computer plant changed its status, it was decided to rebrand the enterprise. So KUR was renamed Hi-Tech Invest. The new company is planning to increase the output of computer equipment using the production facilities of the technopark and signed contracts with world-leading IT vendors. In particular, the Hi-Tech company taking part in BakuTel 2015 has disclosed its plans to launch, in February 2016, the serial production of personal mono-block computers and notebooks using components from Taiwan's Acer as well as processors and microchips from US-based Intel. During the first stage, local content in the manufacture will be 50 per cent. The company is going to use tax and customs preferences to cut production costs and, in time, to set up the export of equipment assembled at the Mingacevir YTP technopark's facilities to markets in the post-Soviet space. 

This is by far not the only example: during the telecommunications show, China's leading manufacturer HU-AWEI admitted that a joint venture might be established in Azerbaijan for the production of smartphones. 

First time participants accounted for 15 per cent of all exhibitors this year. These include such world leaders as AVAYA, Google Corporation, Kasper-sky Lab and others. The exhibition presented major trends of 2015: next generation IT solutions for the national broadband Internet, 4-5G mobile technologies, services in the sphere of optical fibre and cloud technologies, electronic government and information security. The audience showed an interest in portable devices for remote connection to cable TV services for viewing more than 200 channels; the construction of call centres from the ground up, making databases and other programmes and networks needed in the office; new technologies providing security from cyber-attacks and spam, and protecting children from unwanted online content. 

The most popular part of the exposition included various mobile applications and gadgets from cellular communications operators. Thus one mobile operator is going to introduce Wi-Fi Calling, a brand-new technology to transmit voice calls. This comparatively cheap service will provide voice services for cellular communication users to connect their smartphones to the operator's network through the Internet. Another cellular company offers its users access to 120 TV channels. The company has also developed Wi-Fi Data Kart, a portable device (connectable to motor vehicle power supply) acting as a router providing access to broadband Internet for computers, tablets and other devices. 

The trend shared by the country's three cellular companies is to phase in the 4th and the future-oriented 5th generation LTE technologies to replace the conventional GSM standard. The company is increasing investments in the LTE network development in the capital and simultaneously preparing to introduce 4G services in the regions. At the same time, all market participants are cutting their tariffs for broadband network services: mobile Internet traffic is steadily growing today and it has come close to 50 per cent of all operations services. Competition in this sphere is pretty high as users ever more often choose those mobile operators which can provide them with high-speed, high-quality access to the web from any point. 

In a word, like in previous years, the BakuTel 2015 exhibition has laid the foundation for future promising projects in the ICT sphere.