In autumn 1996, Azerbaijani TV channels started to air an ad campaign that – with the country in only its fifth year since declaring independence from the USSR – was both surprising and original in the way it grabbed the attention of its viewers. “You will step beyond limits,” it announced; “Now, everybody will speak!” The company that introduced the advert was Azercell – and when this new mobile telecoms provider appeared on the Azerbaijani market in December 1996, it immediately set about fulfilling these grand promises.
Today Azercell has more than 4.2 million subscribers who enjoy the company’s long-standing commitment to providing reliable, high-quality and affordable services, and paying close attention to its clients’ needs.
Obviously, such commitments do not come easily. To defend its position in the highly competitive modern telecoms industry, Azercell is in the process of modernising its equipment and introducing new, innovative technology to help to expand its reach.
Currently the company controls 54 percent of Azerbaijan’s mobile communication market. Its network covers 80 percent of the national territory, meaning 99.8 percent of the population has access to Azercell’s services. To enhance its customer relationships and get closer to its clients, Azercell has opened 31 Express Offices – one-stop-shops for payments, new purchases and customer support – 19 of which are located in Azerbaijan’s regions.
Embracing the nation
The quality of a mobile network depends mainly on the number of base stations it has and the penetration rate of mobile technologies. In order to extend its communication services, by the end of 2010 Azercell had deployed 18 base station controller systems, 18 mobile communication switchboards and 1,794 radio base stations. During 2010, the company installed 170 stations in the regions of Azerbaijan.
Indeed, thanks to these investments, Azercell is now proudly omnipresent. From subway stations and tunnels to the tops of mountains, the company can provide the means of communication to people everywhere in Azerbaijan. Many of the opportunities such a network opens up were made available for the first time in Azerbaijan by Azercell. The company is also ready to apply 3G, 4G and other technological innovations to the market.
The company pays particular attention to the development of international communications, because in a time of continuing globalisation telecoms cannot be limited to just one country. By the end of 2010, Azercell subscribers were able to call phone numbers on the networks of 406 operators in more than 152 countries by using the RoamCell service. In 2010 the company started providing additional roaming services with 20 mobile operators in 18 countries; and also became the first operator to sign agreements allowing GPRS roaming services with foreign companies. By the end of the year, Azercell had established this type of cooperation with 258 mobile telecoms operators in more than 100 countries.
Such activities require significant investments. In 2010 Azercell invested almost $108m in developing its network, while the total level of investments made over the last 15 years is approaching $885m. Azercell is the largest investor in the national non-oil sector.
Investing in people
Human resources are the main asset of Azercell, and are of paramount importance for the company in its aspiration to provide better services to its subscribers. Accordingly, Azercell invested almost $1.3m in the development of its employees in 2010 – contributing to a total investment over the last 14 years of $11.2m. It would be hard to find any other company in Azerbaijan that invests so much in the development of its staff.
Azerbaijan is known for its ancient charity traditions. Azercell has always preserved these traditions and defined corporate social responsibility as one of the main priorities in its activities. In 2010, Azercell spent almost $1.4m (totalling $14.7m in 14 years) on the implementation of social projects in the country.
Over the last 14 years Azercell has acted as the general sponsor for the Umid Yeri Shelter and Rehabilitation Centre for Street Children. During this time nearly 1,000 children were raised and brought back to a normal life in the Umid Yeri Shelter. This represents a great achievement, because children living on the streets are at risk of being exploited by criminals, having their lives ruined by disease, and falling prey to human traffickers. Currently there are 45 children in the shelter.
In 2004 Azercell launched its ‘SAY’ poetry and storytelling contest, with the objective of identifying and encouraging talented children from all over the country. In 2008, working with the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection of the Population of the Republic of Azerbaijan and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the company launched its ‘Every Child Needs A Family’ campaign to help children to grow up in a family environment. The aim of this campaign was to promote information about the right of children to live in a family environment, promote adoption and fostering, and support the efforts of the government in creating integrated social services for children at local level.
The company was also instrumental in creating the Mobile Dental Clinic and Mobile Eye Clinic, which serve to protect the health of children, particularly those in orphanages and toddlers without parental care. In 2010 the Promising Future Youth Organisation launched a Children’s Hotline with the support of Azercell, the Ministry of Education, UNICEF, Save the Children and World Vision. This hotline provides emotional support and counselling, as well as advice on various problems, signposting to rehabilitation centres, and urgent aid.
And in 2010 Azercell Telecom committed to the fight against human trafficking by supporting the Azerbaijani events that took place as part of the international End Human Trafficking campaign – including a visit by Vaira Vike-Freiberga, the former President of Latvia and Special Advisor to the UN Secretary General.
Ready for the future
Azercell also recognises the importance of being a good taxpayer, and has become a good model for others in the sector. In 2010 Azercell paid almost $114.6m to the state budget, and around $868.2m over the last 14 years of its activities. Azercell’s payments in 2010 amounted to 1.85 percent of the state budget. The company is one of the largest taxpayers in the non-oil sector, making it a significant player in the Azerbaijani economy.
With the aim of bringing further pioneering innovations to the Azerbaijani telecoms sector, Azercell started the Barama project (literally: Cocoon) in 2009. Barama is designed to enable the development of creative and innovative ideas related to ICT – not only with the aim of presenting new solutions and innovations in the field of telecommunications, but also contributing to the social prosperity and economic development of the country.
