Telecommunication systems: general assessment: a landlocked country with historically poor infrastructure; state control of telecom systems; progress with Digital Hub project despite economic contraction in 2020; government launched e-school and e-service programs; risk of delays in infrastructure and launch of new technologies, including 5G due to slow market demand; LTE supports most data traffic while mobile broadband subscribership grows rapidly; fixed-line broadband market has slight upward trend; Internet access is expensive and suffers from outages and intentional government disruption; importer of broadcasting equipment from Russia (2021) (2020)
domestic: teledensity of some 17 fixed-lines per 100 persons; mobile-cellular teledensity has increased to 107 telephones per 100 persons; satellite service connects Baku to a modern switch in its exclave of Naxcivan (Nakhchivan) (2019)
international: country code - 994; the TAE fiber-optic link transits Azerbaijan providing international connectivity to neighboring countries; the old Soviet system of cable and microwave is still serviceable; satellite earth stations - 2 (2019)
note: the COVID-19 pandemic continues to have a significant impact on production and supply chains globally; since 2020, some aspects of the telecom sector have experienced downturn, particularly in mobile device production; many network operators delayed upgrades to infrastructure; progress towards 5G implementation was postponed or slowed in some countries; consumer spending on telecom services and devices was affected by large-scale job losses and the consequent restriction on disposable incomes; the crucial nature of telecom services as a tool for work and school from home became evident, and received some support from governments
Definition: This entry includes a brief general assessment of a country's telecommunications system with details on the domestic and international components. The following terms and abbreviations are used throughout the entry:
Source: CIA World Factbook - This page was last updated on Saturday, September 18, 2021
