en.Wedoany.com Reported - Azerbaijan Telecom (Aztelekom, a subsidiary of AZCON Holding) and Huawei today announced that the national broadband strategy "Online Azerbaijan" has covered 99.7% of the country's regions.
Up to 3 million households and businesses, including major cities and remote villages, now have full access to high-speed internet and digital services, with 2 million of these connections established in the past two years. Currently, nearly all of the country's 10.45 million population can access high-speed internet.
Hasan Omarov, CEO of Azerbaijan Telecom, stated that this initiative is not only seen as a technological upgrade but also as a strategic investment aimed at narrowing the digital divide, ensuring equitable access to digital services, and driving the digital transformation of public services. He noted that the project is one of the largest infrastructure projects in Azerbaijan's history, where citizens, for the first time, can equally access high-speed, reliable internet services and equal digital opportunities regardless of where they live. Huawei's high technological potential, innovative solutions, and capability in delivering large-scale projects have played a key role in the development of Azerbaijan's digital infrastructure. Based on the project, the deployment of advanced technologies such as 10G and 50G PON will further provide ultra-high-speed, reliable, and high-capacity broadband services to homes and businesses.
The "Online Azerbaijan" initiative was launched in 2021 by the Ministry of Digital Development and Transport of Azerbaijan, aligning with the government's goal to increase the average internet speed of stable broadband networks to 50 Mbps by 2025. Through the TECH4ALL digital inclusion program, Huawei has played a key role in infrastructure construction, including connecting the country's most remote villages using all-optical gigabit fiber solutions.
Cui Yangyang, Director of the Huawei TECH4ALL Program Office, stated that Huawei is committed to using technology and solutions to bridge the digital divide, build an inclusive and sustainable digital world, and ensure everyone can access high-speed internet. Huawei's all-optical telecom solutions focus on building end-to-end infrastructure, replacing traditional electrical switching with optical technology to meet high-bandwidth and low-latency demands.
Project targets were set based on the population density, infrastructure potential, and social indicators of Azerbaijan's 14 economic regions. At the project's launch, the average internet speed in Azerbaijan was only 11.7 Mbit/s, which increased more than sevenfold to 88.84 Mbit/s by 2025. This progress is a direct result of the robust and large-scale deployment of fiber infrastructure, including the complete replacement of traditional copper cable networks with fiber optics. In just one year, Azerbaijan rose 9 places in the UN E-Government Development Index, entering the top tier of digital governance for the first time in 2025.
The project has been showcased as a case study at various professional events over the years and has received five international awards. It has also been published as a demonstrative business case in the Turkish edition of the Harvard Business Review and in Philip Kotler's "Principles of Modern Marketing."
Previously, many rural areas in Azerbaijan had limited access to modern connectivity and digital services. Taking remote mountain villages like Xinaliq as an example, the introduction of high-speed and reliable connections has significantly enhanced local opportunities, supported small and medium-sized enterprises, stimulated tourism, and enabled local artisans to share traditional crafts with a global audience through live streaming. Improved connectivity has also expanded access to online education for rural schools, helping to bridge the digital divide and providing rural students with more access and learning opportunities comparable to their urban peers.
In addition to online education, projects covering telemedicine and smart cities are being implemented nationwide. In the next phase, the "Online Azerbaijan" project will focus on extending 5G and the Internet of Things to the most remote areas, with a strong emphasis on energy efficiency and the adoption of green technologies.
TECH4ALL is Huawei's long-term digital inclusion initiative and action plan, aimed at building an inclusive and sustainable digital world through innovative technologies and partnerships.
This article is compiled by Wedoany. All AI citations must indicate the source as "Wedoany". If there is any infringement or other issues, please notify us promptly, and we will modify or delete it accordingly. Email: news@wedoany.com
