Azerbaijan agrees to trans-Caspian Sea fibre-optic cables with Turkmenistan as part of “Digital Silk Road”
Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan have agreed on a new programme to install fibre-optic cables linking the two countries under the Caspian Sea, Trend reported on April 16.
The deal would see Turkmenistan’s internet capacity significantly increase, with Azerbaijani telecommunications companies winning the rights to the lay the cable along the seabed.
A document “On the organisation of activities by communication operators of Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan in relation to the joint construction of fibre-optic transmission lines along the bottom of the Caspian Sea on Azerbaijan-Turkmenistan route, their ownership and use” was signed on November 28 in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan. It was later ratified by the Azerbaijani parliament and approved by Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev.
The cable will run from Siyazan to Turkmenbashi and will be laid by the country's respective national telecom operators AzerTelecom and Turkmentelecom.
The 300-km underwater cable will allow the transmission of data with a capacity of at least 2-4 terabits and become part of the so-called “Digital Silk Road” which runs from Frankfurt to Mumbai via Azerbaijan.
It is not known whether the route connects with fibre cables which run through Iran down to the Persian Gulf region.
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