EBRD grants loan to Aztelecom to provide regions with high-speed internet
On 22 December, Aztelecom LLC and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) signed a loan agreement worth 50 million USD (85 million AZN) in connection with the financing of the broadband internet expansion project of Aztelecom LLC.
The loan agreement was signed by Aztelecom CEO Klaus Muller and EBRD Managing Director for Eastern Europe and the Caucasus Matteo Patrone.
Klaus Muller, while commending the EBRD for supporting the implementation of state-of-the-art broadband infrastructure in more than 280,000 households in Azerbaijan’s regions, said: “This is a positive development since the EBRD has allocated a loan without state guarantee to Aztelecom, the main operator of the “Online Azerbaijan” project, which is currently being implemented by the Ministry of Digital Development and Transport, for building a broadband internet connection around the country. Aztelecom has successfully passed the rigorous due diligence process of the EBRD on the assessment of creditors, which includes health, safety, ecological, gender issues and so forth. By meeting the EBRD’s strict requirements, the company became one of a select group of companies in the country and region that signed a loan agreement with the EBRD. This fact indicates that Aztelecom has made significant progress in corporate management in 2021–2022.”
It should be noted that Aztelecom will use the funds raised to reconstruct the infrastructure to be implemented in the regions. Thanks to this financial support, the company will improve the speed, capacity and bandwidth of the planned network expansion, thus reducing the digital divide between urban and rural areas. This will enable Aztelecom to provide high-quality, uninterrupted internet and increase average internet speeds across the country.
It should be said that a broadband network covering the entire territory of the country with high-speed internet is to be built by the end of 2024 within the “Online Azerbaijan” project implemented by the Ministry of Digital Development and Transport, the main operator of which is Aztelecom.
The project provides for the replacement of the existing ADSL equipment with GPON equipment operating with a modern IMS platform, replacing the old copper backbone cable infrastructure with optical cables and building an optical distribution network. This technology significantly improves the quality of the internet and makes it possible to provide additional services, including IPTV.
It should be noted that from the start of the project in 2017 until today, some 766,000 households across the country have already gained access to optical internet, with 539,000 of them during 2021–2022. This shows that the speed of installation of new infrastructure has increased many times. Overall, by the end of the project, it is planned to provide all households in the country with high-speed internet via GPON and other broadband technologies.
