AzerTelecom and Kazakhtelecom have signed a strategic corporation memorandum to lay a fiber-optic cable along the bottom of the Caspian Sea.

The two operators signed the agreement at the "Digital Bridge" international technological forum held in Astana, Kazakhstan according to Trend AZ.

The agreement centers around both operators' involvement in the Trans-Caspian Fiber-Optic cable project on the Azerbaijan-Kazakhstan route, which is a key part of the large-scale 'Digital Silk Way' project.

This digital infrastructure project aims to create a new digital corridor between Europe and Asia through Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan.

“Cooperation between our companies within the framework of the digital infrastructure project —the Trans-Caspian Fiber-Optic Cable Project, which is part of the Digital Silk Way — will open up opportunities for us to enter new sales markets, expanding our transit capabilities," said AzerTelecom chief operations officer Sergey Nazarenko.

"Also, with the help of this cooperation, we will be able to improve the reliability of providing telecommunications services to consumers in our countries."

"Joint activities with AzerTelecom involve the exchange of information, best practices, experience, and promotion of joint projects. All this, in turn, will contribute to the development of new market opportunities in terms of availability and increase in network bandwidth in both countries,” added Kazakhtelecom chairman of the board of directors Kuanishbek Yesekeyev.

Founded in 2008, AzerTelecom is a subsidiary of Bakcell, Azerbaijan's first mobile network operator. The company, which is a part of NEQSOL Holding, claims to provide the country's fastest Internet services.

Meanwhile, Kazakhtelecom is Kazakhstan's biggest mobile operator.