AzTelekom widens broadband coverage in rural areas

Azeri telecoms operator AzTelekom, which is wholly owned by the state via the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT), is set to expand the availability of broadband services in rural parts of the country through the deployment of a 600km fibre-optic cable. Telecompaper cites a report by news agency Trend as saying that the operator is carrying out the project in partnership with seven private internet service providers (ISPs), five of which have already commenced work, with 200km of fibre deployed to eleven telecoms access nodes. TeleGeography’s GlobalComms Database states that AzTelekom operates in the internet market through its subsidiary AzTelekom.NET, which was established in September 2004. It provides a range of connection options, including dial-up, leased lines and ADSL (offering transmission speeds of up to 10Mbps), and also provides voice-over-internet protocol (VoIP) telephony.