No data exchange envisaged under Telecom Armenia-AzerTelecom agreement, no national security risks involved, says Alexander Yesayan

Under an agreement signed yesterday between Telecom Armenia and AzerTelecom, the Armenian company will provide transit internet services on a commercial basis in the Nakhichevan-Azerbaijan direction. The arrangement is purely a business transaction and does not pose any national security risks.

Alexander Yesayan, co-founder and chairman of the board of Team Telecom Armenia, made the remarks while addressing public concerns in Armenia regarding the agreement.

– Which part of Azerbaijan is expected to receive internet traffic under the agreement, and what volume or capacity of traffic does it involve?

– We will provide traffic transit in the Nakhichevan-Azerbaijan direction. In other words, Team Telecom Armenia will sell internet traffic to Azerbaijan. It should be noted that international communication routes function as complementary pathways. In modern telecommunications networks, traffic can be transmitted through different routes depending on technical and operational conditions.

New connections expand available options and increase network flexibility. To provide transit services, networks must have physical interconnection at the level of equipment and cables.

This is not an internet service but a data transit service carried out on a point-to-point basis using DWDM technology. The Azerbaijani side will gain access to a cable with a capacity of 100 gigabits per second, not to any data.

– Does the agreement involve any national security risks?

– The internet operates in such a way that all nodes around the world are interconnected. This cooperation does not envisage any exchange of data between countries; it is simply an internet transit agreement.

Since the sale of internet traffic will mainly be carried out from Telecom Armenia, the potential risks are actually higher for the other side. Security requirements are always a priority in the design and operation of telecommunications infrastructure. The purpose of establishing new routes is to enhance network resilience and reduce dependence on individual directions, thereby ensuring a more diversified and stable infrastructure.

– Can it be said that this is purely a business transaction in which the Armenian side’s interest is exclusively financial?

– Yes, it is a business transaction and the agreement is based on commercial principles. At the same time, greater international bandwidth and additional routes contribute to improved service reliability, network stability and the quality of international connectivity.

– Can the agreement be viewed within the logic of TRIPP?

– No. This cooperation is exclusively an arrangement between two private companies and has no connection either with TRIPP or with any other interstate project.

Through this project, we are strengthening Armenia’s role as a transit country for internet traffic in the region by also selling traffic to Azerbaijan.

This is solely a telecommunications and infrastructure project aimed at increasing network stability, expanding international connectivity routes and creating additional opportunities for the development of Armenia’s digital economy.

We are already the largest provider of transit internet connectivity from Armenia to international destinations. With this project, we become one of the three largest providers of transit internet traffic in the Caucasus and the Middle East.

Within the framework of the agreement, we are simply expanding alternative opportunities to connect to global internet network hubs, while also beginning to provide services to Azerbaijan.

Telecom Armenia and AzerTelecom have signed a bilateral agreement providing for the transit and delivery of internet traffic through the territories of the two countries on a commercial basis.

Under the agreement, Telecom Armenia, as a leading transit operator in the region, is expanding both the number of countries and the geographical scope of its international internet traffic services by providing transit to Azerbaijan through its own infrastructure.

The agreement is intended to contribute to the diversification of regional connectivity routes, enhance the reliability of telecommunications networks and promote cooperation in the telecommunications sector.