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BAKU, Azerbaijan, December 24. The European
Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is providing a loan
of up to $50 million to Azerbaijan’s Aztelekom LLC to finance the
rollout of state-of-the-art broadband infrastructure to more than
280,000 households in the regions of Azerbaijan, the Bank told
Trend.
According to the EBRD, the company’s planned expansion of the
network will increase speed, capacity and capacity, reducing the
digital divide between the capital and rural areas.
“Baku Telephone Communications LLC will act as a co-borrower
together with Aztelekom LLC. The financing will be the first EBRD
transaction in the sector and be supported by a guarantee through
the European Fund for Sustainable Development Plus (EFSD+),” the
EBRD said.
The loan is being provided as part of the EU’s ambitious
Economic and Investment Plan for the Eastern Partnership, which is
aimed at delivering jobs and economic investment across the
region.
Moreover, the EU is set to grant a further 1 million euros as
part of the EFSD+ guarantee to the Ministry of Digital Development
and Transport of Azerbaijan to enable the implementation of
institutional measures to improve competition and regulation in the
telecommunications sectors, as well as to strengthen the borrowers’
corporate governance.
“While fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) broadband networks offer greater
bandwidth, reliability and cost efficiency than outdated
copper-based technologies, rollouts to date have been focused on
major urban centres. The country-wide rollout of FTTH to rural
areas stands to contribute significantly to inclusive and
sustainable economic growth in Azerbaijan,” the Bank noted.
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