funded predominantly by the largest mobile operator, AzerCell, has an additional satellite connection to Turkey. The cost of satellite connection is very high because of the
monopoly regime set by the MCIT.
Since the second half of 2007, Azerbaijan does not have a free Internet Exchange
Point (IXP). Delta Telecom controls the only IXP and charges the same amount for
local and international traffic. Providers have not been able to agree on setting up
another IXP. The external traffic of Azerbaijan is now 6 Gbps, which is a notable increase from the 155 Mbps capacity of 2006. Delta Telecom has external fiber-optic connections with Russia via TransTelecom and with Turkey via RosTelecom. 13 (Indirectly,
Delta Telecom serves Georgian users because a local ISP, TransEuroCom, buys international traffic from Delta and carries it by fiber to Georgia. Through the TRACECA
Fiber Optic Cable line, TransEuroCom is connected also to the TurkTelecom in Turkey.)
State control over domain name registration is limited. The assignment of the country code domain name ‘‘.az’’ is controlled by AzNic, Ltd., a joint venture between three
Azerbaijani firms. The cost for a one-year registration is USD 34. Network Technologies
(a subsidiary of IntraNS) is the company that carries out the registration and administration of the top-level domain level (TLD) in the country. Domain name registrations
cannot be done online. Instead, a client is required in most cases to go in person to the
offices of the domain name holder. Since 2002, the number of registered domain
names has rapidly increased, with approximately 3,000 first-level and more than
6,000 second-level domains registered under the ‘‘.az’’ domain.
The Azerbaijani Internet population is young, mostly male, and largely concentrated
in urban areas: more than 55 percent of the users are people in the age range of 16 to
24, and approximately 70 percent of the users are male. During the 1990s, the official
language of Azerbaijan switched from Russian to Azerbaijani, and the script from Cyrillic to Latin. As a result, the number of Web sites using Azerbaijani language increased.
Due to the increased use of blogs by young people, several local blog servers were created in the Azerbaijani language. However, most of the bloggers still post on Russian
blog servers, and others on Western European and Turkish sites. The Azerbaijani language is currently used on all official government Web sites, as well as within mainstream media and the general Internet population.
Mobile telephony is increasingly popular among the younger population. This is
especially the case in rural areas where the fixed-line infrastructure is poor and people
are increasingly subscribing to mobile services. The major mobile operator in the
country is Azercell with more than 35 percent MCIT participation. Bakcell, the second
operator, is relatively small. Azercell recently started offering mobile e-mail services.
Both operators provide coverage of the whole Azerbaijani territory (except the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh). In March 2006, the MCIT agreed to grant a license to a
third GSM operator, Azerphone. 14 Catel 15 started operation earlier. The state telecom,
Azerbaijan
153
monopoly regime set by the MCIT.
Since the second half of 2007, Azerbaijan does not have a free Internet Exchange
Point (IXP). Delta Telecom controls the only IXP and charges the same amount for
local and international traffic. Providers have not been able to agree on setting up
another IXP. The external traffic of Azerbaijan is now 6 Gbps, which is a notable increase from the 155 Mbps capacity of 2006. Delta Telecom has external fiber-optic connections with Russia via TransTelecom and with Turkey via RosTelecom. 13 (Indirectly,
Delta Telecom serves Georgian users because a local ISP, TransEuroCom, buys international traffic from Delta and carries it by fiber to Georgia. Through the TRACECA
Fiber Optic Cable line, TransEuroCom is connected also to the TurkTelecom in Turkey.)
State control over domain name registration is limited. The assignment of the country code domain name ‘‘.az’’ is controlled by AzNic, Ltd., a joint venture between three
Azerbaijani firms. The cost for a one-year registration is USD 34. Network Technologies
(a subsidiary of IntraNS) is the company that carries out the registration and administration of the top-level domain level (TLD) in the country. Domain name registrations
cannot be done online. Instead, a client is required in most cases to go in person to the
offices of the domain name holder. Since 2002, the number of registered domain
names has rapidly increased, with approximately 3,000 first-level and more than
6,000 second-level domains registered under the ‘‘.az’’ domain.
The Azerbaijani Internet population is young, mostly male, and largely concentrated
in urban areas: more than 55 percent of the users are people in the age range of 16 to
24, and approximately 70 percent of the users are male. During the 1990s, the official
language of Azerbaijan switched from Russian to Azerbaijani, and the script from Cyrillic to Latin. As a result, the number of Web sites using Azerbaijani language increased.
Due to the increased use of blogs by young people, several local blog servers were created in the Azerbaijani language. However, most of the bloggers still post on Russian
blog servers, and others on Western European and Turkish sites. The Azerbaijani language is currently used on all official government Web sites, as well as within mainstream media and the general Internet population.
Mobile telephony is increasingly popular among the younger population. This is
especially the case in rural areas where the fixed-line infrastructure is poor and people
are increasingly subscribing to mobile services. The major mobile operator in the
country is Azercell with more than 35 percent MCIT participation. Bakcell, the second
operator, is relatively small. Azercell recently started offering mobile e-mail services.
Both operators provide coverage of the whole Azerbaijani territory (except the territory of Nagorno-Karabakh). In March 2006, the MCIT agreed to grant a license to a
third GSM operator, Azerphone. 14 Catel 15 started operation earlier. The state telecom,
Azerbaijan
153