The level of development in the field of information and communication, which plays an important role in the socio-economic life of the country, is more pronounced than in other sectors of the economy. The intensive and high-level development of existing information and communication spheres can be characterized by the formation and expansion of new types of services, including mobile telephony and the Internet in our country.

Today, the activity in the field of information and communication technologies (ICT) in the Republic of Azerbaijan continues successfully along the strategic line defined by the national leader Heydar Aliyev. The “National Strategy on Information and Communication Technologies for the Development of the Republic of Azerbaijan (2003-2012)” approved by him in 2003 was the first official document emphasizing the importance and significance of this direction for our country.

Thanks to the transition to and their building an information society in Azerbaijan in the 21st century, the formation of e-government and the development of intellectual potential, the field of information and communication technologies, which is a priority after the oil sector, has penetrated the country's socio-economic life in recent years. The importance of ICT in the modern period and in the future comes to the fore. Modern communication and information technologies open new opportunities for our republic in the direction of comprehensive development of the country, raising the intelligence of the population, as well as more active involvement in the integration processes taking place in the world. The abolition of the Ministry of Connections and the establishment of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technologies on its basis became noteworthy in terms of the future development of this field, the opportunities for every citizen to benefit from modern information and communication technologies. A lot of work has been done in this direction in a short time and important steps have been taken.

President Ilham Aliyev addressed the World Summit on the Information Society held by the UN and the International Telecommunication Union in Geneva on December 10-12, 2003, and spoke about the main principles of state policy in the field of ICT development in Azerbaijan and the main directions of the National Action Program.
Important work has been done to accelerate the development of communications and information technologies in the country, improve the regulatory framework in this area and bring it into line with international agreements to which the Republic of Azerbaijan is a party, further liberalize the telecommunications and postal services market and develop the private sector. In 2004, the Laws of the Republic of Azerbaijan “On Postal Services”, “On Electronic Signature and Electronic Document”, in 2005 “On Telecommunications”, “On Electronic Commerce” were adopted. By the Order of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan dated October 21, 2005, the “State Program for the Development of Communication and Information Technologies in the Republic of Azerbaijan for 2005-2008” (“Electronic Azerbaijan”) was approved. A project to computerize secondary schools is being implemented to ensure that young people have high intelligence, innovations and science in the world.

Mobile phone, which entered the life of the country in 1994, already plays an important role in the socio-economic life of the country. In 2020, the number of mobile phone subscribers in Azerbaijan exceeded 11 million.

After the energy sector, information technology is the most developed non-oil sector in our country. As the most dynamically developing country in the region, Azerbaijan today has great potential for expanding the ICT sector. Taking full advantage of these opportunities, our society sees integration into the world community as its main task.

Order of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan dated 04.11.2008 "On the establishment of the space industry in the Republic of Azerbaijan and the launch of telecommunications satellites into orbit" in connection with the strategic objectives of eliminating the dependence of information exchange on foreign countries, development and launch of a telecommunications satellite as well as relevant measures were taken to ensure the implementation of the "State Program for the establishment and development of the space industry in the Republic of Azerbaijan" approved by the Order dated August 17, 2009.

The President of the Republic of Azerbaijan signed an Order dated May 3, 2010 on the establishment of Azercosmos Open Joint-Stock Company in order to ensure the launch, management and operation of the country's first telecommunications satellite.

Azerbaijan's first communication satellite was built by the American company Orbital Sciences Corporation. 
The Azerspace-1 satellite was launched into orbit on February 8, 2013, from the Kuru cosmodrome in French Guiana (South America) by the French company Arianespace on an Ariane-5 launch vehicle. Azersky / Spot 7 - Azerbaijan's first high-resolution (1.5 m resolution) Earth observation satellite was launched into orbit in June 2014 as part of a strategic partnership between Azerbaijan and France in the space industry. In December 2014, it was handed over to Azercosmos OJSC under an agreement signed between Azerbaijan's national satellite operator Azercosmos OJSC and France's Airbus Defense and Space. Azerspace-2 is the third satellite of the Republic of Azerbaijan by number and the second telecommunications satellite.. Azerspace-2 was built by the US company Space Systems Loral (SSL). Azerspace-2 was launched on September 25, 2018 from the Kuru Cosmodrome of French Guinea (South America).

The use of information and communication technologies in order to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of government bodies, to facilitate and liberalize relations with the public, businesses, as well as among themselves is called "e-government" in the world practice.

In order to organize the exchange of information between the information systems of government agencies and to create conditions for citizens to use e-services provided by government bodies on the basis of the "one stop shop" principle, the "e-government" portal www.e-gov.az was created and launched. At present, information systems of 39 government bodies have been connected to the e-government portal, and more than 200 kind e-services of these agencies have been provided through the portal. The e-government gateway allows to organize the effective use of information systems available in government agencies, to create secure connections between them, to request, respond to inquiries and to provide citizens with documents that are  available in information systems.

In accordance with the Decree of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan dated December 29, 2004 “On measures to ensure information security in state bodies of the Republic of Azerbaijan”, provision of creation, maintenance and development of the Internet network segment for state bodies increased and allowed to rise the attention to the their application allowed them to rise to a higher level. 

Almost all central executive bodies, mainly local executive authorities, and some local self-government bodies have Internet information resources and use them to inform the population and provide services. Since 2000, government bodies have been using the "gov.az" domain, which creates conditions for the systematic organization and use of information resources.

Submission of e-tax returns, submission of  applications  of school graduates for entrance exams for the university and applications  for entrant exams for master level, civil service applications, clarification of voter lists, application of e-health cards, e-mail appeals to various government bodies, receiving information is a reality of our lives.
Intensive and high-level development of existing information and communication spheres is characterized by the formation and expansion of new types of services, including mobile communication, the Internet in our country. Thanks to the transition to and establishment of the information society in Azerbaijan in the XXI century, the formation of e-government and the development of intellectual potential, the field of information and communication technologies, one of the priority areas after the oil sector, has penetrated more seriously in recent years. In the last 10 years, about 1,400 automatic telephone stations and about 1,000 post offices have been built or overhauled in the regions. The number of telephones per 100 families increased 1.6 times, the number of mobile phone subscribers increased 9.6 times, and 70 out of every 100 people were Internet users. 2013 has been declared the "Year of Information and Communication Technologies" in our country, and on February 8, the country's first telecommunications satellite was launched into orbit.

At present, there are 1,123 mobile phone numbers for every 1,000 people in the country, and 67 landline telephones for every 100 families.

At present, there are 9 national, 13 regional, 17 cable, 15 Internet, 1 satellite television, 13 national and 3 regional radios in Azerbaijan, and digital broadcasting has been launched in the country.

In order to broadcast radio and television in the liberated territories, in January 2121, the specialists of the Radio-Television Broadcasting and Satellite Communications Production Association of the Ministry of Transport, Communications and High Technologies restored the Shusha Radio-Television Broadcasting Station. “AzTV”, “Madaniyyat” TV, “Idman Azerbaijan” TV, “Ictimai” TV, “CBC” TV, “CBC Sport”, “Real” TV, “Khazar” TV, “Azad Azerbaijan” TV broadcasting throughout the country and ARB-24 TV channels are broadcasted in Shusha, Khankendi and Khojaly, Aghdam, Barda regions, as well as surrounding settlements.

The State Agency for Citizen Services and Social Innovations under the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan was established by the Decree of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan dated July 13, 2012. In accordance with the directions of activities  State Agency is body for  the unified management of "ASAN service" centers in the Republic of Azerbaijan, coordination of activities of employees of government agencies operating in service centers, monitoring and evaluation, mutual integration of government databases, accelerating the process of organizing e-services is the central executive body that implements the system improvement. There are 21 "ASAN service" centers in the country. (01.10.2021).

Based on international experience and taking into account local conditions, state registers of special importance for the activities of "e-government" are being created in the country. The formation of the population register, real estate and movable property registers, the register of normative acts, the address register, the register of administrative-territorial division, the register of legal entities and many other important registers will improve the quality of activity of government agencies in the country. Registration according the general rule of information related to each person in these registers will facilitate the future organization of their activities, the application of the "one-stop shop" principle in the provision of services to citizens, simplification of the population's contact with government bodies , more convenient form and more flexible implementation.

State care for the formation of the information society in Azerbaijan, the rapid development of information and communication technologies, its transformation into a leading factor serving the welfare of our people is part of the policy aimed at the future prospects of our country. In result of implementation of the “National Strategy for Information and Communication Technologies for the Development of the Republic of Azerbaijan (2003-2012)” approved by the Decree of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan No. 1146 dated February 17, 2003 and state programs adopted for its implementation the level of use of  ICT in education, healthcare and in other social spheres, the economy, business activities, in everyday life has increased significantly. The latest technological innovations have been introduced in the country, and access to the Internet via wired, wireless and mobile technologies has been created. As a result, 75% of the population has become Internet users, and 65% of them have become broadband Internet users. The number of computers used in homes and workplaces has increased. The mobile sector has developed rapidly, with 3G and 4G services introduced.

Decree of the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan No. 429 of May 23, 2011 “On some measures in the field of organization of e-services of state bodies”  emphasizing the  implementation of public administration on the basis of modern principles, increasing the efficiency and transparency of government bodies,  importance of the organization of electronic services in preventing circumstances  creating conditions for corruptionhas given a serious impetus to speed up work in this direction  

On September 20, 2016, the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev approved the “State Program for the Implementation of the National Strategy for the Development of the Information Society in the Republic of Azerbaijan for 2016-2020”. In accordance with the program, the "e-government" portal www.e-gov.az was created and put into operation in order to organize the exchange of information between the information systems of government bodies and create conditions for citizens to use e-services provided by government agencies on a "one-stop shop" basis. At present, information systems of 42 government bodies have been connected to the e-government portal, and more than 442 e-services of these agencies have been provided through the portal.

Within the framework of the “Online Azerbaijan” project implemented by the Ministry of Digital Development and Transport, as of 2023, about 1.5 million households and business entities in Azerbaijan have been provided with broadband internet access. This also means that 52 per cent of the existing households and business entities in the country are covered by broadband internet and it is planned to increase this figure to 60 per cent by the end of this year.

Creation of a fibre optic network providing fast and interrupted internet access is based on GPON (Gigabit Passive Optical Networks) technology in the territory of the country. And this is also being implemented in accordance with international standards within the framework of the “Online Azerbaijan” project.

In 2023, the Space Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan (Azercosmos) which is under the Ministry of Digital Development and Transport signed a cooperation agreement with the US company SpaceX (Space Exploration Technologies Corporation).

Within the framework of the 74th International Astronautical Congress held in Baku, a cooperation agreement on the development of new observation satellites of Azerbaijan was signed between the Space Agency under the Ministry of Digital Development and Transport (Azercosmos) and the company Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI). Critical Infrastructure Defense Challenge 2023 (CIDC-2023) was held in Azerbaijan for the first time in 2023.

The opening of the Azerbaijan Cyber Security Centre is also one of the most important events.

The dynamics of ICT development in Azerbaijan, increasing confidence in the country as a result of a successfully implemented oil strategy, examples of successful cooperation with international organizations, the tasks set for the formation of economy based on a high-tech, the great attention and care for ICT as part of public policy guarantees that our country will achieve great success in the field of high technologies in the near future