Azercell is an Azerbaijani telecommunications company based in Baku. It is the largest mobile network operator in Azerbaijan. The company is owned by the ruling Aliyev family through offshore companies. In 2008, state shares were transferred to the Aliyev family's companies at a massive discount, effectively costing Azerbaijan's people at least $600 million.
Company background
Azercell Telecom LLC was established in January 1996 as a joint venture between the Azerbaijan government and Turkcell, a large Turkish mobile operator.34 In this arrangement, the Azerbaijan government owned 51% of the operator.5
Azercell Telecom started its activities on 15 December 1996. Azercell become the second-largest taxpayer operating outside the country's oil sector.67
In 2004, TeliaSonera, a Swedish company, was involved in negotiations to privatize Azercell. The Azerbaijan government stepped in to block TeliaSonera from privatizing the state-owned company on its own. The government instructed TeliaSonera that Cenay Insaat (a Turkish company known for collaborating with the Aliyev regime) and an unknown "local partner" had to undertake the privatization. Shares of the company were transferred to the local partner, which investigative reporting revealed was registered to offshore companies owned by the family of Azerbaijan ruler Ilham Aliyev.8
In 2018, Fintur Holdings, in which Telia had a 58.55 percent ownership, sold its stake in Azertel to Azerbaijan International Telecom LLC, which is owned by the Republic of Azerbaijan.910
Services
4G
Azercell announced on 24 May 2012, the launch of services based on the 4G platform. Azercell's 4G network covers all of Baku city and nearby towns. The networks operate on 1800 MHz frequency. MTS The second region where the 4G network got deployed, is the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic.11
Market share and coverage
51% of Azerbaijan's mobile market belongs to Azercell; while its geographical coverage constitutes 94.15% and population coverage is 98.70%.
Subscribers
| Year | Subscribers |
|---|---|
| 1997 | 20,371 |
| 1998 | 55,831 |
| 1999 | 179,640 |
| 2000 | 380,857 |
| 2001 | 519,346 |
| 2002 | 668,598 |
| 2003 | 912,137 |
| 2004 | 1,308,640 |
| 2005 | 1,706,158 |
| 2006 | 2,333,387 |
| 2007 | 2,800,000 |
| 2008 | 3,475,000 |
| 2009 | 3,850,000 |
| 2010 (Q2) | 4,204,699 |
| 2019 | 4,800,000 |
| 2020 | 5,000,000 |
See also
- Telecommunications in Azerbaijan
- Ministry of Communications and Information Technologies (Azerbaijan)
- List of Azerbaijani companies
External links
References
"Offshores Close to President Paid Nothing for State Share of Telecom - Corruptistan". OCCRP. 2015. https://www.occrp.org/en/corruptistan/azerbaijan/azerbaijan-telecom/offshores-paid-nothing-for-share-of-state-telecom ↩
"Offshores Close to President Paid Nothing for State Share of Telecom - Corruptistan". OCCRP. 2015. https://www.occrp.org/en/corruptistan/azerbaijan/azerbaijan-telecom/offshores-paid-nothing-for-share-of-state-telecom ↩
"Offshores Close to President Paid Nothing for State Share of Telecom - Corruptistan". OCCRP. 2015. https://www.occrp.org/en/corruptistan/azerbaijan/azerbaijan-telecom/offshores-paid-nothing-for-share-of-state-telecom ↩
"Azerbaijan government buys Telia and Turkcell's stake in Azercell for €222m". Capacity Media. 5 March 2018. Retrieved 10 June 2024. https://www.capacitymedia.com/article/29ot9zs8rfpxjdjmd4mio/top-story/azerbaijan-government-buys-telia-and-turkcells-stake-in-azercell-for-222m ↩
"Offshores Close to President Paid Nothing for State Share of Telecom - Corruptistan". OCCRP. 2015. https://www.occrp.org/en/corruptistan/azerbaijan/azerbaijan-telecom/offshores-paid-nothing-for-share-of-state-telecom ↩
"Offshores Close to President Paid Nothing for State Share of Telecom - Corruptistan". OCCRP. 2015. https://www.occrp.org/en/corruptistan/azerbaijan/azerbaijan-telecom/offshores-paid-nothing-for-share-of-state-telecom ↩
"Yet another quality index from Azercell". AzerNews.az. 30 July 2020. Retrieved 12 December 2020. https://www.azernews.az/business/167534.html ↩
"Offshores Close to President Paid Nothing for State Share of Telecom - Corruptistan". OCCRP. 2015. https://www.occrp.org/en/corruptistan/azerbaijan/azerbaijan-telecom/offshores-paid-nothing-for-share-of-state-telecom ↩
"Telia sells Azercell stake in gradual exit from Eurasia". Yahoo News. 5 March 2018. Retrieved 10 June 2024. https://ca.news.yahoo.com/telia-sells-stake-azercell-110310804--finance.html ↩
"Telia sells stake in Azercell". Reuters. Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/article/idUSL5N1QN2GP/ ↩
"Azercell announced the launch of 4G". contact.az. 24 May 2012. Retrieved 14 June 2012.[permanent dead link] http://www.contact.az/docs/2012/Economics&Finance/05245918en.htm ↩