‘Telecommunications’ Category
Azerbaijan Business Cables
(courtesy of the USACC) Azerbaijan Heads into Space with First National Satellite The Azerbaijan Ministry of Communications and Information Technologies has signed a contract with Orbital Sciences Corp. to build Azerbaijan’s first national satellite, Orbital announced May 27. Orbital Sciences Corporation will produce the satellite over 26 months. Azerbaijan plans to launch the synchronous space telecommunications satellite between July and August 2012. The country will use the satellite to start developing its space industry. “I understand that this contract is only the start. Keep Reading »
Regional Business Updates
Regional business updates from around the region:
Kyrgyzstan: Closed borders continue to hamper trade and in particular the regional shuttle trade that supplies local bazaars and small businesses. Currently Kazakhstan is allowing trains to pass through its territory towards “third party destinations.” Continued unrest in the South of Kyrgyzstan may prolong this economic isolation.
Kazakhstan: According to Kazakhstan Today, Kazakhstan has a defecit of raw materials in certain growing sectors. This includes the manufacturing Keep Reading »
“What Matters in Privatization is Process”
In a posting last month on the Center for International and Private Enterprises (CIPE) development blog, Elena Suhir analyzed several recent privatization deals in Kyrgyzstan. Below is her analysis and conclusions on the current process for privatizing state assets.
Since 2008, President Bakiev has embarked on a privatization mission. Lessons from around the world and most recently other former Soviet countries, including Russia, Kazakhstan, and others, clearly illustrate that privatization is not an end to itself. Rather the process of privatization is the key to successful transition from a centralized to a market economy. With this goal in mind, Kyrgyz civil society, with the business community at its helm, continues to sound alarms over speedy privatization that ensues in Kyrgyzstan with little transparency and much public skepticism. Keep Reading »
Saturated but not Satiated: Telecommunications in Armenia
In November 2009, a new mobile service provider officially launched its services in Armenia. That new provider, France-Telecom’s Orange, had, just a year prior, won the bid to become Armenia’s third wireless service provider. At the time of the bid tender, many analysts held two views: First, the Armenian telecommunications market was saturated. Second, an overhaul of the market’s dynamics and competitiveness was long overdue. The addition of Orange is proving both of those views to be technically accurate, although a deeper analysis is necessary to understand what the introduction of Orange really means for Armenia and what it says about opportunities for investors in the telecommunications market.
Interview with Valery Rostokin, Vice-President of CJSC TransTeleCom
Founded in 1997 by the Russian Railways, Company TTK (CJSC TransTeleCom) operates and services a 53,000-km fiber-optics network, including 30,000 km of over 110 Gb-ps-DWDM systems, one of the largest telecommunications networks in Russia. Since 2005, TTK has increased its earnings from international business seven-fold, from $4.2 million to $29 million and is actively developing its network in Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan. Andrey Gidaspov spoke to Valery Rostokin, vice-president and head of TTK’s International Sale Department about the progress that the company has made and the rosy prospects for the future.
