The Business Year

Vugar Asgerov

General Director, Caspian NavTel

We work with a large number of private and public companies to which we provide GPS tracking services. Both groups are interested in the status of their vehicle fleets. These systems allow 24/7 checking, as well as the monitoring of vehicle speed, the pinpointing of location, and indication of stationary time. Our most recent joint project was with state-owned Baku Taxi, where Caspian Navtel provided navigators for the entire fleet. By 2015, more than 2,000 taxis are scheduled for purchase, on which our navigators will also be installed. Additionally, we have been working with Taxi 189, a private entity, which also exclusively uses our navigators. Today, all taxi drivers are required to use the Navigator, which is the most reasonably-priced model on the market, and which we—as the only company in this line of busness in Azerbaijan—exclusively provide. Our GPS tracking services are also used by leading Azerbaijani banks, such as the Bank of Baku and Demir Bank.

Jayhun Mollazade

CEO, SAZZ

Competition is heating up in the mobile broadband sphere in Azerbaijan. At the moment, we have competitors among mobile GSM operators. In certain product areas, we have a competitive edge. However, there are significant differences between the companies. For example, they do not offer CPE devices; they offer smartphones. Also, compared to the fixed DSL and fiber operators, we have CPE devices that are competitive with their CPE devices; however, they don’t have the USB modems, Wimaxion, or the mobility experience we offer. SAZZ occupies the middle ground between telecommunications providers and DSL providers. We offer mobility, but no voice services. Our aim is to do what we do best. We came to the market with a positive message, and we sport very attractive brand colors.

Fuad Allahverdiyev

General Director, Fuad Allahverdiyev

Caspian Telecom is the main network provider operating independently, which allows the company to provide high-quality corporate services to customers. We use the latest innovative technologies in our operations, while building up our fiber network for our clients. The company uses the latest fiber to the home (FTTH) technology, which implies deploying fiber-optic lines directly to the home or business to deliver video and data services. In spite of the high cost of its installation, the FTTH network has higher profitability and lower maintenance. Today, Caspian Telecom offers services meeting all standards to both private and government sectors, state companies, and financial institutions. Caspian Telecom is actively working to expand its coverage area. We have an extensive fiber-optic network in areas such as Baku, Ganja, and Gabala, as well as many others. In terms of the expansion of the optical line, the company plans to open new branches in other regions.

Mahammad Zulfigarli

Business Services Director, Ultra

ULTRA Project Department was fully involved in the development of the ASAN center. A team consisting of 12 people shaped a concept on a tight schedule as only three months was allocated for the opening of the first such center. This was a highly significant IT project, for which the specifications alone came in at around 200 pages. Every detail had to be provided for in the multi-structural solution. Each solution had to be competently chosen, and designed with the possibility of its integration, so that the way it would conduct coupled with other project elements could further the service steps. IT infrastructure virtually supplies all ASAN operations; thus, a wide range of scenarios had to be contemplated to anticipate the way each binding might conduct in certain conditions. Apart from that, the ecosystem had to be prepared for the connection of new branches.

Seymur Mammadov

CEO, Simbrella

We have many competitors globally; however, I can confidently say that our platform, effectively a kind of emergency service, is the best available. We change the pre-paid service to a post-paid model for a limited period of time, such as when a subscribers’ balance reaches zero, in order for them to be able to continue making calls or other forms of communication. With our help they can use advance credit when they run out of pre-paid credit, for which we charge a service fee. When customers visit the point of sale to top up their phones, the fee and loaned credit are deducted from their new balance. The service fee covers the entire risk of the operators, even if subscribers fail to repay used credit, but purchase another SIM card. Yet because our credit limits are very low, it is not economically feasible for the subscriber to purchase a new SIM card. The only bad debt, therefore, arises if a visitor to the country leaves without paying the debt, or if a subscriber loses their phone.

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