DIGITAL EQUALITY

Exactly 10 years ago, Azerbaijan was among the first in the world and the only one in the South Caucasus to approve a long-term plan for transition to an information society - "The National Strategy of Azerbaijan for the Development of Information and Communication Technologies for 2003-2012". And later, a government programme was drawn up to develop ICT in 2005-2012, the main purpose of which was the movement to a global information society through the development of e-government, including the creation of a modern communications infrastructure and its connection to global IP networks, as well as the development of the IT production sector.

Although the final summing-up of the results of the National Strategy and the state programme is planned for the period from 15 September to 15 October with a number of activities, including exhibitions and conferences, even a cursory analysis of the current state of ICT in the country convinces us that the goals have been attained by 100%.

A good start 

In the Year of ICT proclaimed in Azerbaijan on the initiative of President Ilham Aliyev, the achievements in all individual components of the sphere are often spoken about. And indeed, there is something to be proud of: the country was the first in the former Soviet Union to complete a number of major challenges in the field of developing the information society and modernizing the telecommunications infrastructure. Among them is the full installation of telephones in rural areas of the country, as well as the "digitization" of all existing telephone exchanges with their transfer to a seven-digit numbering system. Azerbaijan was one of the first CIS countries to introduce digital broadcasting in the DVB-T and MPEG-4 standard, covering 93% of the populated areas of the country today. And with the launch of a national satellite and the development of space technology, Azerbaijan began to provide digital broadcasting and communication services at the international level. Our country also holds advanced positions in the field of mobile networks of the third and fourth generations, and for every 100 people there are over 110 mobile phones.

Mass access to broadband Internet is also provided: last year, the total number of Internet users in Azerbaijan reached 70% of the total population, and more than half of the connections to the global network are carried out via high-speed broadband access.

In another major state programme - Electronic Azerbaijan, which was also adopted within the framework of the unified national strategy, the country created a single portal of the e-government system, introduced a system of electronic signatures and set up departmental information and interactive online resources.

All these factors affected the growth of the financial indicators of the sector. According to the ministry, the average annual growth rate of the industry in 2003-2012 was 20-25%, and every three years, the market volume of the ICT sector doubled. The revenues, which increased more than six times in a decade, reached nearly $ 2 billion last year, and the share of the private sector in them is 80%. Over the past 10 years, about $ 2.5 billion were invested in the ICT sector, and 72% of them are investments by local businesses and their foreign partners.

New goals

 No matter how achievements inspire us, we should not forget that ICT is the fastest growing area in the world. Therefore, to retain the title of regional leader, we need new strategic products. This is what the new state programme covering 2013-2020 provides for. Its development was completed by the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT).

According to the Minister of Communications and Information Technologies Ali Abbasov, "one of the most important tasks to be solved within the framework of the implementation of this document is to provide the entire population with maximum access to high-speed Internet and telecommunications services of new generations".

To this end, the ministry plans to bring broadband services to every home on the basis of fibre-to-home technology. In 2013-2015, the State Oil Fund will allocate 433 million manats for the implementation of these tasks. The project involves the laying of 18,000 km of fibre-optic cables as well as the appropriate modernization of the telecommunication networks. As a result, the country will provide access to the Internet at a speed of 30 Mbit/s in rural areas and regional centres and 100 Mbit/s - in large cities, while the overall penetration rate of broadband Internet will increase to 85% by 2017.

An equally important goal of the new state programme will be to develop services for fourth generation mobile access to the Internet. "Today, LTE (4G) technology services are provided only by one mobile operator, which services about half of mobile subscribers, but soon 4G technology will also be developed by other mobile operators," Abbasov said. These technologies allow the use of smart phones, and through mobile modems, also laptops and tablets for business, e-learning, e-commerce services, high-definition television - Full HD, streaming video and other "heavy" content, not to mention the noticeable cheapening of IP-communication through denser data packet transmission.

Other priorities include the development of high-tech production and export of innovative products, modernization and geographic expansion of ICT based on new technologies, and the development of human resources through the creation of an extensive system of education. In particular, it is planned to establish ICT parks, where residents will be given broad tax and customs preferences, as well as to form other elements of the regional innovation zone, including a University of Information Technology, specialized research institutes and experimental laboratories.

Financial advantage 

The most important instrument for financing innovative enterprises, including investment in start-up projects, in the new state programme is the ICT Development Fund. "There are various benefits for the development of start-up companies, and we will strive to ensure that in the next decade, young entrepreneurs who want to do business are able to implement projects of innovative nature," Minister of Communications Ali Abbasov said.

In the foreseeable eight years, the ICT Development Fund will significantly expand the range of activities of innovative businesses. For the first time in the history of the country, the state fund acquired the right to venture financing (long-term and risky investments in the activities of "innovative small entities"), as well as the right to provide grants to small start-up projects. Such free aid will be available to both physical and legal persons in the three-year period of the implementation of the project, and the maximum size of the grant per project is 300,000 manats.

The Azerbaijani government plans to invest around $ 3.5 billion of budget funds in the ICT sector. And with the further reform and liberalization of the ICT sector and provision of preferential investment conditions, a lot of private investment can be made in the sector. Based on the above, ministry experts predict that by 2025, revenues received in the field of information and communications technology will be comparable with the income derived from the oil industry and may even exceed them. The successful implementation of projects under the new state programme will allow public and state organizations to move on to the next level of development and achieve "digital equality" with the leading countries of the world in the shortest possible time.