The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development mandated that a consult must come up with a market study on telecoms coverage for remote and rural areas of Azerbaijan, Armenia and Georgia. The deadline for submissions is February 8.

The study will research the most effective way to provide mobile phone technology and WiMax to areas where land lines cannot be placed. Communities will have access to health, education, government services and e-commerce or trading platforms. The cost of WiMax includes transporting the power supply to base stations that will be located in rural remote areas.

The consultant must understand the technology, restrictions due to the area’s climate, and operation limitations of deploying better 3G communications. A desktop research and in-country evaluation of the suitability of the operators must be completed to retrofit their existing network of base stations. A transitional impact study must also be completed to forecast the influence of remote regions.