Azerbaijani Ministry organizes workshop on TASIM project in Geneve

By AzerNews

Azerbaijan's Ministry of Communications and Information Technologies has organized a seminar on the topic "TASIM, EuraCA: new platforms for improvement of connectivity in Eurasia".

The seminar was arranged as part of the fifth forum of the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) on the implementation of decisions of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) and attended by ITU Secretary General Hamadoun Toure as well as experts from about 80 countries, the ministry said.

The forum was held in Geneva on May 14-16.

Addressing the workshop, Deputy Minister of Communications and Information Technologies Elmir Velizade informed the participants of the Trans-Eurasian Information Super Highway (TASIM) project.

TASIM is a project of regional importance, whose aim is laying a transnational fiber-optic line covering the countries of Eurasia from Western Europe to Eastern Asia. The project envisages the creation of a major transit link from Frankfurt, Germany to Hong Kong. The line will combine major centers of information exchange in Europe and Asia. The transit line will stretch through China, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey to Germany. A reserve North transit line will pass through the territory of Russia, Ukraine and Poland.

Speaking at the seminar, the ITU Secretary General said that the initiative on the implementation of the project envisages the development of the whole region and Azerbaijani authorities regularly express commitment to the development of the ICT sector in the country as well as in the entire region.

The seminar participants stressed the importance of overcoming the divide in digital technologies in the region as well as the need for implementing the TASIM project.

Furthermore, Velizade made a speech at a plenary session of "WSIS+10", which aimed to emphasize the vision on the process of developing the information society after 2015. The deputy minister spoke about the development of the ICT sector in Azerbaijan, the successes and further development prospects, the expansion of broadband infrastructure as well as advanced provision of online services.

TASIM is a long-term initiative and will be implemented in two stages.

During the first phase leading regional countries and operators will create major Internet transit infrastructure, linking the West and East. The process is planned to be completed in late 2013.

In the second phase, it is supposed that by using the created transit infrastructure, TASIM will provide the Eurasian countries that do not have direct access to open sea, including Central Asian states, with Internet connection at affordable rates. According to the plan, new fiber-optic lines will be laid, while the existing lines will be upgraded and connected to the TASIM network.

The TASIM project will contribute to creating an open information society in the region, to increasing the speed of Internet connection and promoting the development of Internet services, which, in turn, will lead to economic development, diversification of the economy and increased competition.