Communications has a very ancient history in Azerbaijan, mail was delivered via messengers since ancient times.
Communications in Azerbaijan was implemented by messengers, camel caravans and etc. Mail in Azerbaijan was officially founded in 1501 by head of Azerbaijan Safavid State Shah Ismayil Khatai. Creation of post in modern form dates back to the first half of XIX century.
First post office was opened in Ganja. Baku main post office was established attached to Baku Province. On January 21, first telegraph line connecting Nakhchivan and Julfa on the border of Iran was commissioned. In December, first telephone line was built in Azerbaijan by “Caucasus and Mercury” steamship company. The line connected the office of “Caspian” oil company in Baku port with the society’s main office located in Naberejnaya street. n
In January, 1881 ‘Nobel Brothers’ society applied to Baku governor, general-lieutenant Pozen in order to obtain permission for construction of telegraph line and such a permission was given on February 18. On November 23 of the same year, 6-km long first telephone line connecting the chairman and senior engineer’s houses with the main office of Nobel Brothers’ society was commissioned.
Officially, this line is considered the first telephone line in Azerbaijan, and the date coincides with the establishment of telephone communication.
On May 26, an agreement was signed between Main Post and Telegraph Department and Moscow first degree merchant Qustav Ivanovich List for creation of first centralized switched telephone network in Baku and commissioning it for 20 years. Centralized switched telephone network in Baku had 40 users. Transportation of mail via railway started between Baku and Derbend. Centralized switched telephone network in Baku had 1146 users. On December 29 ‘Nobel Brothers’ society presented information, upon appeal of chief of Baku Mail Telegraph Office, on number of telephones, their addresses, distances from ATEs. Democratic Republic of Azerbaijan, first democratic state in East, was established on May 28.And from the first days of its establishment it did important work in the development of mail and communication. Mail and Telegraph Ministry of the independent Azerbaijan was established. First communications ministers were Kh. Melikaslanov, A.Ashurov and J.Hajinski. On March 1, Azerbaijan Telegraph Agency was founded. On March 15 exchange of money orders, registered letters, parcels and mail was implemented between Azerbaijan and Georgia. Azerbaijan’s first postage stamp on Azerbaijani soldier was issued on October 20. Soviet power was established in Azerbaijan on April 28 and Mail and Telegraph Commissariat was established. Radio broadcasting in Azerbaijan was aired regularly starting from November 6, first wired radio broadcasting was launched for the first time. Till 1953 communication in Azerbaijan was managed by permanent representative of the USSR Communications Ministry to Azerbaijan. In 1953, Azerbaijan SSR Communications Ministry was established. On February 14, Baku TV center was launched, TV broadcasting (AzTV-1) started functioning in Azerbaijan for the first time.
In late of 50s of last century, the issue of training of specialists in the field of communications became a current issue. In 1959, the Council of Ministers of the Azerbaijan SSR adopted a decision to prepare highly qualified specialists in the field of communications at higher educational institutions of the republic, first graduation ceremony of engineers on speciality of telephone and telegraph communications held at Azerbaijan Polytechnic Institute in 1965. On January 31, 1964 Baku TV Center started rebroadcasting of television programs from Moscow central TV. Until 1968, TV broadcasting in the country covered Shirvan, Goychay and Ganja cities.
Heydar Aliyev and Azerbaijani communication
There is Heydar Aliyev stage in the development of communication in Azerbaijan as it is in all spheres.
Despite certain actions were taken during soviet time in Azerbaijani communication in the 60s level of this field in the republic was too lower than other republics of the union. Only after 1969 when national leader Heydar Aliyev started to lead the republic this field, like other ones, entered the stage of strong development.
1970-1980:
Major development era of communication in Azerbaijan happened in the 70-80s. Special attention to this field by Heydar Aliyev who led the country those years is widely reflected in the official documents of those years. Issue regarding the state of communication means in the republic and actions for future development was raised on June 24, 1970 in the office of Central Committee on the initiative and under leadership of Heydar Aliyev and historical decision was made. The decision considered state of phone communication unsatisfactory in Baku, Sumgayit, Ganja cities, noted in a number of regional centers manual phone stations are in use, half of state farms and 25% of collective farms supplied with telephones, set development and improvement of communication means as one of most important duties of Communications Ministry.
Construction of buildings for 16 communication centers in 1971-75, construction of ATE buildings by city executive committees, including construction of 1 ATE building in Baku yearly, purchase of ATE equipment and construction of technological equipment by Communications Ministry, allocation of required funds for all this and implementation of other important measures were included in the decision.
In 1976 power of Baku Telephone network was increased over 20 times in comparison with 1927, phone had become an integral part of life of people in Azerbaijan.
In 1970-80s communication developed not only in Baku in regions as well. These years 5-floor special communication building was commissioned in Ganja where ATE with 8000 numbers, intercity ATE and telegraph and radio equipment was installed, ATE with 9000 numbers in Sumgayit, the one with 5000 numbers in Nakhchivan were commissioned, construction of ATEs in other cities and regions was implemented.
A duty was set before Communications Ministry of the republic to build ATEs with 164,4,000 numbers and mounting issues in 1974-1980s.A plan in connection with the construction and commissioning of new ATEs was approved, and it allowed to obtain new achievements in the field of communications.
The volume of the installed telephones in republic in 1980 was 279,1,000 numbers, 274,12,000 of which were mini ATEs.
Total number of subscribers of the city phone system was 234,7,000, which was 1.4 times more in comparison with 1975.
Those years mail, telegraph and TV-radio transmission developed much. The construction of Baku Railway Post Office, Communications House, buildings for communication centers in regional centers and more than 300 post office buildings were built then.
Project of 310-meter New TV Tower that was to be built near old TV tower in Baku was approved by the commission created on the initiative of Heydar Aliyev in 1979 and construction started on October 1981. But because of some reasons commissioning of the unit was delayed and only after second arrival of national leader Heydar Aliyev to the leadership in the republic the tower was commissioned.
1993-2003:
Development of communications in the republic sharply declined in the years of 1985-1993, because of reasons which were known to everybody.
II stage started in the development of national communication of Azerbaijan due to direct care and attention by Heydar Aliyev who was elected President of the country in 1993.Due to wise policy of the leader of the country foreign investors were involved in the country, a real turn started in the development of communications.
From 1993 foreign communication companies such as Teletash and Netash of Turkey installed modern electronic ATEs in Baku, Sumgayit, Ganja cities and other regions, International Phone Station with 2000 channels was installed in Aztelecom PA, Republican intercity telephone station with 6150 channels, Bakcell providing cellular communication system due to the funds of Motorola, Azercell with Turkish communications companies and other joint ventures were created.
All this was new stage of development of communication in Azerbaijan thanks to the care and attention of Heydar Aliyev.
It is not by accident that country public and press called 1998 the year of turn in communication, year of technical revolution. In those years ATEs with 108,000 numbers were commissioned in the republic.
In 1998-2003 modern ATEs 40/41, 30/31, 50, 54, 56, 21/22, 27, 32 in Baku, as well in Ganja, Mingechevir, Barda, Yevlakh, Guba, Gusar, Devechi, Sheki, Gakh, Oghuz, Lankaran and other regions were built and commissioned, Nakhchivan AR was fully supplied with telephones, all settlements in Azerbaijan were supplied with 1 phone at least.
Due to the work done in 1993-2003 48.4% of telephone network of the country and 100% of telephone system of Nakhchivan AR were provided with electronic system, number of main telephone that was 611,5,000 in 1991 was increased up to 1 million, the republic joined Trans-Asia-Europe cable highway, all Baku villages and settlements, settlements in all regions were provided with telephones, all areas of the country have access to the Internet, 80% of communication among stations in telephone communication system was organized in digital form.
The approval of the order on the “National Strategy on information communication technologies for the sake of development of Azerbaijan Republic (2003-2012)” by national leader Heydar Aliyev on February 17, 2003 was one of the most important steps taken in the direction of the development of communication in Azerbaijan in 1993-2003 and at present policy being realized in the country was built just on this strategy.
Creation of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technologies
Against the background of rapidly development of high technologies, President Ilham Aliyev signed an order on February 20, 2004 on abolishing the Ministry of Communications and establishing on its basis Ministry of Communications and Information Technologies.
It was an important step taken for future development of this sphere and creation opportunities for every citizen to enjoy modern information communications technologies. The development of ICT and its comprehensive application became one of major directions of Azerbaijan Republic on the way of forming a new high technology and knowledge-based economy.
Ministry of Communications and Information Technologies, being responsible state body for this field and coordinator of relevant State Program, organized many-branched activities in the direction of upgrading of telecommunications infrastructure, application of new technologies, improvement of regulating functions, regulation and liberalization of ICT market as well as enhancement of production potential of this sphere.
On August 1, Baku city telephone network changed over to 7-digit numbering system Law of the Republic of Azerbaijan “On Telecommunications” was adopted on June 14 On October 1, NGN- new generation of network equipment was introduced in Baku for the first time in Azerbaijan and CIS space. On December 30, Azerfon LLC was granted a special permit (license) for the organization of GSM mobile service. Thus, the third operator entered the market of mobile communication. President of the Republic of Azerbaijan signed an order to establish a professional holiday of workers in the field of communications and information technologies. December 6 was announced a professional holiday of workers in the field of communications and information technologies. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev declared the use of information and communication technologies in Azerbaijan a priority sector at a conference held on February 13, 2007, on the occasion of the third anniversary of the state program on “Socio-economic development of Azerbaijani regions (in 2004-2008)”. More and more attention has been paid to the development of this sector since then, application of information technologies in all spheres of life is of great importance for the government, because today ICT plays the role of catalyst of competitiveness and economic growth. Remote and small settlements of Azerbaijan were supplied with telephones for the first time in the post-soviet area. A software for speech recognition in the Azerbaijani language was created as part of project DILMANC. Implementation of the project “National Computer” was launched to increase computerization level in the country. On December 21, 64th session of the UN General Assembly passed a resolution related to Trans-Eurasian Information Super Highway. Azerbaijan started to establish its space industry. The electronization process of telephone network in the country’s regions was fully completed. Azercosmos OJSC was established. Post offices started rendering new banking-financial services. Important work was done in the direction of building e-government in the country, state agencies started providing e-services. State Fund for Development of Information Technologies was established. On November 5, Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev signed an order on establishment of High Technologies Park. 2013 was declared The Year of Information and Communication Technologies in Azerbaijan by Decree № 2664 of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan dated January 16. On February 5, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan signed a decree on approving the Regulations on the portal e-government and measures to increase electronic services. On February 8, within the framework of the Year of ICT the first satellite of the Republic of Azerbaijan - Azerspace-1 was launched into orbit from Kourou, the Space Center of French Guiana. The Regulations on the State Fund for Development of Information Technologies under the Ministry of Communications and Information Technologies, as well as the Rules for the use of the funds were approved by Presidential Decree dated 2 April. The Regulations on the Electronic Security Center under the Ministry of Communications and Information Technologies was approved by decree of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan dated March 5, as well as Azerbaijani President issued a decree on the activity of the Electronic Security Center. Mobile Device Registration System was established and began operating on May 1. Online registration of domain names was launched on October 2. Having moved 5 positions forward Azerbaijan ranked 56th among 144 countries on Networked Readiness Index in The Global Information Technology Report 2013 of the World Economic Forum. According to the report, Azerbaijan is the leader among the CIS countries and Central Asia for the number of Internet users, as well as the country ranked 8th in “Government’s success in supporting ICT” among 144 countries, 9th position for “The importance of ICT in future outlook of the Government”, 20th - in the index “Internet access”. In The Global Competitiveness Report 2013-2014 of the World Economic Forum, Azerbaijan ranked 39th for the “Global Competitiveness Index” among 148 countries and compared to previous year’s ranking, having moved 7 spots forward, Azerbaijan maintained its leading position in the CIS compared to the last year’s rating. Moving 7 steps forward in comparison with the previous report Azerbaijan ranked 61st for “ICT Development Index” (IDI) among 157 countries in the report “Measuring the Information Society-2013” of International Telecommunication Union (ITU). In general, large-scale measures were taken to develop the sector in 2013, positive results were obtained, and from this point of view the Year of Information and Communication Technologies was a memorable event. On February 25, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan issued a decree on making amendments in the presidential decree №111 dated August 10, 2004 “On approval of Regulations on the Ministry of Communications and Information Technologies of the Republic of Azerbaijan”.
Creation of the Ministry of Communications and High Technologies
On March 7, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan signed an order on the establishment of the Ministry of Communications and High Technologies of the Republic of Azerbaijan. On March 7, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan signed an order on appointing Ali Mammad oglu Abbasov Minister of Communications and High Technologies of the Republic of Azerbaijan. National Strategy for Information Society Development in Azerbaijan for 2014-2020 was approved by the Order of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan dated April 2, 2014. On May 8, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan signed an order on establishment of the National Nuclear Research Center CJSC under the Ministry of Communications and High Technologies of the Republic of Azerbaijan for peaceful use of nuclear technologies. On May 15, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan signed a decree on approving the “Model Regulations on Technology Park”. The structure of the Ministry of Communications and High Technologies of the Republic of Azerbaijan was approved by the Decree of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan dated June 19, 2014. The Regulations of the Ministry of Communications and High Technologies of the Republic of Azerbaijan were approved by decree of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan dated June 19, 2014. On November 4, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan signed a decree on application of Law No.1028 -IVQD of the Republic of Azerbaijan dated September 30, 2014 “On amendments to the Law of the Republic of Azerbaijan “On Post” and “On amendments to Decree No.17 of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan” dated November 11,2008 on application of Law No. 696-IIIQD of Azerbaijan Republic dated October 2, 2008 “On amendments and additions to the Law of the Republic of Azerbaijan “On Postal Communications”. On December 2, within the framework of strategic cooperation in the field of space industry between Azerbaijan and France, the optical earth observation satellite Spot 7 high resolution (1.5 m imagery products) renamed as Azersky put into orbit in June 2014, was handed over to Azercosmos OJSC. The agreement was signed at BakuTel 2014 Telecommunications and Information Technologies Exhibition with the participation of President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, His Excellency Ilham Aliyev. On December 15, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan signed a decree on the approval of the Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in the field of post between the Ministry of Communications and High Technologies of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Ministry of Communications and Information Technologies of the Islamic Republic of Iran. On December 15, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan signed a decree on the approval of the Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in the field of information and communication technologies between the Government of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran. On December 29, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan signed a decree on the approval of the agreement on cooperation between the Ministry of Communications and High Technologies of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Ministry of National Development of Hungary for the establishment of Regional Data Center in Azerbaijan Republic and in the field of application of innovative technologies. On February 19, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan signed a decree on the approval of the Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in the field of information and communication technologies between the Government of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Government of State of Qatar. On February 27, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan signed a decree on the establishment of Mingachevir High-Tech Park. On November 12, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan signed an order on dismissal of Ali Mammad oglu Abbasov from the post of Minister of Communications and High Technologies of the Republic of Azerbaijan. On November 25, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan signed an order on the appointment of Ramin Namig oglu Guluzade as First Deputy Minister of Communications and High Technologies of the Republic of Azerbaijan. On December 2, Azercosmos OJSC, the premier satellite operator in the Caucasus, signed an agreement with French Arianespace on putting the second telecommunications satellite Azerspace-2 into orbit. The agreement was signed at BakuTel 2015 Telecommunications and Information Technologies Exhibition with the participation of President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, His Excellency Ilham Aliyev. On January 15, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan signed an order on dismissal of Ramin Namig oglu Guluzade from the post of First Deputy Minister of Communications and High Technologies of the Republic of Azerbaijan. On January 15, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan signed an order on the appointment of Ramin Namig oglu Guluzade to the post of Minister of Communications and High Technologies of the Republic of Azerbaijan. On February 26, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan signed an order on the amendments to Order No.885 of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan dated May 3, 2010 “On the establishment of Azercosmos Open Joint-Stock Company”. On February 26, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan signed an order on the amendments to Order No.442 of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan dated May 8, 2014, “On the establishment of the National Nuclear Research Center Closed Joint-Stock Company under the Ministry of Communications and High Technologies of the Republic of Azerbaijan to use nuclear technology for peaceful purposes. On March 10, the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan signed a decree on application of Law No. 143-VQD of the Republic of Azerbaijan dated March 4, 2016 “On amendments to the Law of the Republic of Azerbaijan “On Post”. On March 17, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan signed a decree on the approval of the Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in the field of information and communication technologies between the Ministry of Communications and High Technologies of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of the United Arab Emirates. In April, the postage stamp “Chess World Cup. Baku-2015” issued by Azermarka Limited Liability Company of the Ministry of Communications and High Technologies was named the “Most original stamp of the month” in Italy. On June 24, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan signed a decree on amendments to the “Regulations on the Ministry of Communications and High Technologies of the Republic of Azerbaijan” approved by Decree No.185 of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan dated June 19, 2014. On June 24, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan signed a decree on amendments to Decree No.115 of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan dated August 31, 2004 “On application of Law of the Republic of Azerbaijan “On Post”. On January 19, prepayment system on the internet subscription fee was launched in Baku. On January 25, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan signed an order on the application of Law No.418-VQD of the Republic of Azerbaijan dated November 29, 2016 on making amendments to the Law of the Republic of Azerbaijan “On Post”.
Creation of the Ministry of Transport, Communications and High Technologies
On February 13, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan signed an order on the establishment of the Ministry of Transport, Communications and High Technologies of the Republic of Azerbaijan and under another presidential order, Ramin Guluzade was appointed Minister of Transport, Communications and High Technologies of the Republic of Azerbaijan. On February 15, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan issued a decree on making amendments to Decree № 638 of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan dated October 2, 2015 “On approval of the Rules on information security during operational search activities on communication networks”. On February 15, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan issued a decree on making changes in the “Safety Rules for Postal Items” approved by Presidential Decree No.153 dated December 10, 2004. On March 2, “Pochtap” service for returning of lost documents to its owner was launched. Documents found within this service are accepted by relevant post offices, their owners are sought, if found, the documents are handed over to them, otherwise they are delivered to the relevant authority. On March 16, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan issued a decree on making amendments to Decree No.277 of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan dated August 9, 2005 on the application of the Law of the Republic of Azerbaijan “On Telecommunications”. On March 17, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan issued a decree on the application of Law No.540-VQD of the Republic of Azerbaijan dated March 10, 2017 on making amendments to the Law of the Republic of Azerbaijan “On Telecommunications” and on making amendments to Decree No. 277 of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan dated August 9, 2005 on the application of the Law of the Republic of Azerbaijan “On Telecommunications”. On March 17, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan signed a decree on the application of Law No.539-VQD of the Republic of Azerbaijan dated March 10, 2017 on making amendments to the Law of the Republic of Azerbaijan “On Information, Informatization and Information Security” and on making amendments to Decree No.729 of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan dated June 19, 1998 on the application of the Law of the Republic of Azerbaijan “On Information, Informatization and Information Security”. On March 18, Public Internet network providing free internet access to the population, implemented by Baku Telephone Communications Limited Liability Company of the Ministry of Transport, Communications and High Technologies, was launched. Today, the population is successfully using free internet service in the main parks of the capital. On April 5, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan signed a decree on approval of Memorandum of Understanding on the cooperation in the field of innovation, information and communication technologies between the Ministry of Transport, Communications and High Technologies of the Republic of Azerbaijan and Ministry of Economy and Finance of the French Republic. On April 5, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan signed a decree “On abolition of Decree No. 246 dated June 3, 2005 of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan on ensuring enforcement of the Law of the Republic of Azerbaijan “On Electronic Signature” and “Electronic Document”, at the same time President of the Republic of Azerbaijan issued a decree on making amendments to Decree No.65 of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan dated May 26, 2004 on the application of the Law of the Republic of Azerbaijan on “Electronic Signature” and “Electronic Document”. On April 17-18, Open Innovations Startup Tour was held for the first time in Azerbaijan. The tour, held in Baku, was organized jointly by the Ministry of Transport, Communications and High Technologies of the Republic of Azerbaijan and Skolkovo Foundation of the Russian Federation. The winners of the tour from Azerbaijan were project “Lia” of Spinal team, Orkhan Ahmedov’s project “Kvotter” and Shahlar Pashayev’s project “Healthy Living Platform”. The project “Lia” was included in the top five in the final round of the tour, which was held in Russia. On May 31, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan signed a decree on making amendments to the Regulations on the Ministry of Communications and High Technologies of the Republic of Azerbaijan, approved by Decree No.185 of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan dated June 19, 2014. On June 5, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan signed a decree on the application of Law No.608-VQD dated April 14, 2017 of the Republic of Azerbaijan on making amendments to the Law of the Republic of Azerbaijan “On Telecommunications” and on making amendments to Decree No.277 of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan dated August 9, 2005 on the application of the Law of the Republic of Azerbaijan “On Telecommunications”. On June 16, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan issued a decree on making amendments to Decree No.792 of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan dated July 4, 2008 on the application of the Law of the Republic of Azerbaijan “On Road Transport”. On June 22, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan signed a decree on the application of Law No.672-VQD of the Republic of Azerbaijan dated May 16, 2017 on making amendments to the Law of the Republic of Azerbaijan “On Telecommunications” and on making amendments to Decree No.277 of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan dated August 9, 2005 on the application of the Law of the Republic of Azerbaijan “On Telecommunications”. On July 11, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan issued an order on the application of Law No.700-VQD of the Republic of Azerbaijan dated May 31, 2017 on making amendments to the Law of the Republic of Azerbaijan “On Telecommunications”. On August 7, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan signed a decree on making amendments to some decrees and orders of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan in connection with the execution of Order No.2669 of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan dated February 13, 2017 “On Establishment of the Ministry of Transport, Communications and High Technologies of the Republic of Azerbaijan”. On October 17, in accordance with the order of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan on amendments to decree No.885 dated May 3, 2010, Azercosmos Open Joint-Stock Company was removed from the aegis of the Ministry of Transport, Communications and High Technologies of the Republic of Azerbaijan. On October 30, the opening ceremony of Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway, which was a significant event for our country and the region, took place at Baku International Sea Trade Port with the participation of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan and heads of a number of countries. The first train departed from Baku to Kars. It will play an important role in increasing the volume of multimodal transportations in both directions with the involvement of European and Asian rail freight. As part of the optimization of the public transport network, a Transport Junction (HUB) was created in the territory of Baku International Bus Terminal, together with Baku Transport Agency (BNA), which is aimed at providing the compliance of passenger transportation service with the requirements of the legislation, involving in this center the buses coming from surrounding areas, cities and settlements, as well as from regions and center in the direction of Baku city and ensuring the efficiency and quality. Measures for renewal of old, end-of-life buses operating on the route lines have been continued. Thus, the optimization of routes providing urban passenger transportation is carried out in the country’s cities, repetitive and inefficient bus routes are canceled, new routes meeting the needs of the population are opened, other new routes are provided as well. On November 6, the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan signed a decree on application of Law No. 807-VQD dated October 20, 2017 of the Republic of Azerbaijan “On amendments to the Law of the Republic of Azerbaijan” and amendments to Decree No.115 of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan dated August 31, 2004. On January 9, the opening ceremeny of the RO-RO terminal of New Baku International Sea Trade Port was opened with the participation of the head of the country and the construction work of the first phase of the port is expected to be completed by mid-2018. On January 12, the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan signed a decree on some measures to improve the management in the field of transport, communications and high technologies in the Republic of Azerbaijan. The structure and regulations of the Ministry of Transport, Communications and High Technologies of the Republic of Azerbaijan was approved by this decree. On January 9, the Ro-Ro Terminal of the New Baku International Sea Trade Port was opened with the participation of the country’s leadership and it is planned to complete the construction of the first phase of the port by mid-2018. On January 12, the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan signed a Decree “On some measures to improve management in the field of transport, communications and high technologies in the Republic of Azerbaijan”. The structure and regulations of the Ministry of Transport, Communications and High Technologies of the Republic of Azerbaijan was approved by the Decree. On March 1, the State Fund for Development of Information Technologies announced the sixth grant competition to finance innovative and applied scientific and technical projects in the field of ICT. By the decision of the Supervisory Board, 5 projects won the competition. It should be noted that grants were allocated to 117 projects in 6 competitions. On May 14, the opening ceremony of Baku International Sea Trade Port Complex was held in Alat settlement of Garadagh district of Baku city with the participation of President Ilham Aliyev. On July 12, the Ministry of Transport, Communications and High Technologies signed a 3-year agreement with Microsoft Corporation to purchase software licenses for government agencies. According to the agreement reached between the parties, it is envisaged to provide the civil servants’ computers (20,000 licenses) with Microsoft software licenses (Windows Pro, Office 365 ProPlus, Core CAL), as well as to license higher education institutions with academic concession (10,000 licenses). On July 31, according to Resolution No 336 of the Cabinet of Ministers, a new amount of state duty for registration of mobile devices was formed. It should be noted that the new tariffs do not apply to devices imported into the country for wholesale. An information system for the new registration fee for mobile devices was launched. On September 3-7, the knowledge and skills of national cyber security teams of the CIS countries were checked for the first time in Baku. On September 24-25, the first E-Commerce Forum was held in Baku on the initiative of the Ministry of Transport, Communications and High Technologies, with the support of the European Union and the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development. On October 4, providing travel grants to local startups and authors of innovative projects was launched. Travel grants are provided to the authors of startups and innovative projects operating in the Republic of Azerbaijan with a view of ensuring their participation in investment-oriented international startup events abroad, as well as making visits to hold meetings with foreign investors. On October 26-30, the Ministry of Transport, Communications and High Technologies together with Heydar Aliyev Center organized The Week of Innovations. Within the project, the latest innovations in the field of high technologies were demonstrated, conferences, forums and competitions were organized, and the world’s most intelligent robot Sophia was brought to Baku. The project “Knowledge Economy: Azerbaijan’s Innovation Roadmap” was presented at the first main event of the Week of Innovations, organized by the United Nations Development Programme with the support of the Ministry of Transport, Communications and High Technologies. A Memorandum of Understanding was signed on the creation of the first laboratory of the “Internet of Things” in our country. The memorandum was signed between the Information and Communication Technologies Applying and Training Center LLC under the Ministry and Microsoft Azerbaijan. Within the framework of the Week of Innovations, winners of the startup tours “From Idea to Business” competitions were selected. It should be noted that more than 2,000 participants took part in the startup tours held in different cities and regions of the republic within 7 months during “From Idea to Business”, and 15 out of 75 selected teams won the right to participate in the Republican finals. In the end, three projects became winners of the tour. On November 6, the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan signed a Decree on the establishment of the Agency of Innovations under the Ministry of Transport, Communications and High Technologies of the Republic of Azerbaijan. On November 16, Robopark robotics technology laboratory was established in in the country for the first time at the secondary school No 23, located in Baku city with the support and organization of the Ministry of Transport, Communications and High Technologies. The laboratory was established within the framework of the joint project with the United Nations Development Programme. The secrets of programming for the creation of robots and their management are taught there. On December 4-7, 24th Azerbaijan International Telecommunications, Innovation and High Technologies Exhibition and Conference – “Bakutel-2018” was held in Baku Expo Center and was memorable for its successes. The participation of President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev, First Lady Mehriban Aliyeva, their daughters Leyla Aliyeva and Arzu Aliyeva at the Bakutel-2018, the 24th Azerbaijan International Telecommunications, Innovations and High Technologies Exhibition and Conference at the Baku Expo Center enhanced the authority of the exhibition.230 companies from 20 countries took part in this year’s exhibition, 10 countries – the USA, Turkey, Belarus, the United Arab Emirates, France, Italy, Poland, Croatia, Iran, Slovenia – were represented by their national pavilions. Subordinate agencies and enterprises of the Ministry of Transport, Communications and High Technologies presented their products and services in the same national pavilion and projects implemented by them. Telecommunication, post, high technologies, including nanotechnologies, electronic signature infrastructure, projects implemented on data center services based on cloud technology and the latest achievements, as well as a number of startup projects supported by the ministry were shown in the pavilion. Along with many local ICT projects, the exhibition also demonstrated international projects in which Azerbaijan is directly involved. A Memorandum of Understanding was signed between Azerpost Limited Liability Company and “Russian Post” on the sidelines of Bakutel-2018 exhibition and conference. A Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation was signed between the Data Processing Center and Samsung Electronics. A Memorandum of Cooperation was signed between the Data Processing Center and the Institute of Applied Software Systems of the Ministry of Communications and Information of Belarus. In 2018, the GPON project, which provides three services through a single line – telephone, internet and television, was continued in Baku city and the LTE project based on new wireless communications technologies was launched. The implementation of a large-scale project on the application of new technologies in the telecommunications network of the regions in the northern, western and southern areas was launched. New stations to be constructed within the project will provide one million users with modern telecommunication services. The number of Baku parks with public Wi-Fi reached 20 in order to ensure a more convenient access to the Internet in public places by the population and tourists. The total capacity of international internet channels in the country was increased to 820 gigabits. To ensure the reliability and security of international voice traffic, three backup systems of the International Telephone Station were commissioned. The construction of the Reserve Data Center in Yevlakh was launched in order to increase the security of information in the Data Center of Azerbaijan. “The number of open data available on the Open Data portal increased to 655. The new portal was launched at a new domain address - http://www.opendata.az. Cryptographic switches were successfully changed in our country to protect the security of the domain names system in our country as well, as it was done in the world for the first time. Electronic signature certificates were placed in the new generation ID cards. A Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in the field of mutual recognition of electronic signature was signed with the Republic of Turkey. 25 startups were accepted to the Business Incubation Center, created at the High-Tech Park of the Ministry. Work is under way to establish a new Innovation Center meeting modern standards under the Ministry of Transport, Communications and High Technologies. “Robotics” courses were organized for schoolchildren within the framework of cooperation between High-Tech Park and Mars Academy. Azerbaijani Post continued its activity successfully as an international transit postal service center. It should be noted that within the framework of the project electronic commerce products ordered from China are imported to Azerbaijan and sorted by Azerpost as transit post and delivered to some 20 countries of the world. Postal transportation services are carried out through Silk Way and Azal airline companies. Azerbaijan received the international award for express mail services by the Universal Postal Union (UPU). In order to provide better services to the population in the telecommunications, postal and other areas, “Shebeke” service centers were established. Their number in Baku and regions reached 9. The project will be continued in the future as well. A new alternative TV tower “Genjlik” was put into operation in Baku and Absheron peninsula for quality and uninterrupted broadcasting of television and radio programs. New innovative materials - GSM modular alcohol sensing alert system (prototype), electric heating elements based on nanocarbon / ceramic composites, nanocarbon / ceramic radiators with high thermal conductivity and heat dissipating were made on the basis of the existing technologies installed at the Ministry’s High-Tech Research Center. The number of intercity passenger flights with Turkey has tripled. Intercity passenger flights increased from 45 to 127 flights a week. US Federal Aviation Administration confirmed the high level of flight safety in Azerbaijan. It is an indicator of the growing authority of our country against the background of the work done in the ICT sector that today Azerbaijan is one of the few countries, which is represented in both the Council of International Telecommunication Union and in its Committee. This year, Azerbaijan became one of the 48 countries represented on the ITU Council with 119 votes in favor at the Plenipotentiary Conference of the Union, which is held every 4 years. Our country was re-elected to the Council for the second time. Moreover, in the elections to the ITU Radio Regulations Board, the candidate from our country won the elections for the first time. This is a great success for our country, which has been a member of ITU since 1992. The progress made in the international rankings for 2018 attracts particular attention. Thus, Azerbaijan ranked 69th among 140 countries in the Global Competitiveness Index of the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report 2018. Our country ranked 58th in the index “Institutions” of the “Enabling Environment” section of the report, 46th – in the “Infrastructure” index and 69th – in the “ICT adoption” index. Also, our country ranks 97th per 100 mobile-cellular subscriptions in terms of ICT adoption, 88th for mobile-broadband subscriptions per 100 people, 53rd for fixed- broadband Internet subscriptions per 100 people, 55th for fibre-optic internet subscriptions per 100 people and 36th for Internet users. Our country became the leader in internet users compared with other CIS countries. Along with this, Azerbaijan ranked 31st on “Business dynamism” indicator in the section “Innovation Ecosystem” among 140 countries of the world and 71st on the “Innovation Potential” indicator. Large-scale startup tours covering 12 regions of our country were organized in 2019 as part of the I2B – From Idea to Business project launched in 2018. On February 22, the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan signed a Decree “On ensuring the activities of the Innovation Agency under the Ministry of Transport, Communications and High Technologies of the Republic of Azerbaijan”. On March 11–15, the international Cyber Security Week was held for the first time in Azerbaijan. Within the framework of the Cyber Security Week, events were organized together with relevant agencies on topics the “Regional Internet Governance Forum”, the “Hackathon” competition, the “Cyber Security Solutions Workshop”, the “Sustainable and Safe Cloud Environment”, “ISO 27001 Certification”, the Republican Scientific and Practical Workshop “CERT Services in the Republic of Azerbaijan: Cyber Threats and Methods of Protection Against Them”, etc. On March 30, the Azerbaijani Final of the World Drone Olympiad took place. On May 1, The Internet of Things Laboratory was launched in the ICT Applying and Training Center of the Ministry of Transport, Communications and High Technologies. On May 29 - June 4, the Innovation Festival (InnoFest) was held for the first time in Azerbaijan. Over 1500 people attended the International Lightest Forum, a workshop on “ICT innovation and startup ecosystems”, presentation of the EU4 Digital Program, Monex Summit, Youth Internet Governance Forum, “Made in Azerbaijan: Innovations and Technologies Forum” and the 3rd Robot Olympiad, which were organized as part of the InnoFest. 158 of the participants were foreign guests. Over 1800 local residents and more than 300 foreigners visited the InnoFest Village. On June 3, the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan signed a Decree on the “Creation of the Government Cloud (G-cloud) and provision of cloud services”. On June 11-13, the 18th Caspian International Transport, Transit and Logistics Exhibition “TransCaspian 2019” and the 9th Caspian International Road Infrastructure and Public Transport Exhibition “Road & Traffic 2019” were held in the Baku Expo Center. On August 26, digital test broadcasting of 12 radio programs in one package was launched in Azerbaijan for the first time in Baku and the Absheron peninsula. On August 28-30 “AZCLOUD Hackathon 2019” competition was organized by AzInTelecom LLC, which operates under the Ministry of Transport, Communications and High Technologies. On August 29 - 31, an innovation summer camp Innocamp was organized in Shamakhy as part of the project “I2B – From Idea to Business”. On October 1, night bus services were resumed. On 16 October, Baku International Sea Trade Port CJSC (Baku Harbor) was awarded the PERS – EcoPorts certificate of the European Sea Ports Organization (ESPO). On October 18-24, InnoWeek – Innovation Week was held for the second time in Azerbaijan. During the week, the Republican final of the I2B – From Idea to Business project, Roboday Exhibition, the 2nd Baku E-Trade Forum (BEF - 2019), Roundtable on “Political View of Innovation Ecosystem”, Eurasia Innovation Day, Kaspersky Security Day, Innovation Awards Gala were organized. On October 28, “Shebeke” Service Center was opened in Aghdash Region Telecommunications Center. On December 3-6, the 25th Anniversary Azerbaijan International Telecommunications, Innovations and High Technologies Exhibition Bakutel 2019 was held in the Baku Expo Center. Some 240 companies from 23 countries took part in the Bakutel 2019 exhibition. About 25,000 visitors attended the exhibition, 6,000 of whom were children. In 2019, three representatives of the Communications Administration of Azerbaijan were elected to senior positions in the study groups of the Radiocommunication Bureau of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU). Post offices #1, #22, #33 and #46 in Baku city were reconstructed in accordance with modern standards and put in operation by Azerpost LLC. Azerbaijan was awarded the Certificate of Excellence by the ICAO Council President for the progress made in ensuring flight safety control and the outstanding achievements in the effective application of international standards. Azerbaijan ranked 21st among 141 countries for the “growth of innovative companies” in the Global Competitiveness Report 2019 of the World Economic Forum.
