1. Digital Silk Rout Regional Interconnectivity toward better and faster social and economic development Baryalai Hassam Deputy Minister Technical September 3-4, 2015 1

2. Outline  The ICT sector development in Afghanistan  Connectivity and Cooperation  ICT infrastructure and connectivity gaps  Regional affordability  What we have now  The need for government and International org. intervention  The advantages of having regional network  What Afghanistan can do  What we have now  Our future plan and priorities  What we need 2

3. The ICT sector development in Afghanistan The ICT sector is one of few undeniable success stories in Afghanistan’s development over the past 13 years. In just 13 years, the telecommunication sector in Afghanistan has evolved from nearly non-existent to a major contributor to the Afghan economy. 3

4. Connectivity and cooperation Regional economic cooperation could be another driver of growth. Regional connectivity will leverage our complementary strengths and synergies. A digital Silk rout will further help regional connectivity and cooperation However the recent commitments alone is not enough Shared understanding amongst nations, and equitably negotiated agreements and standards will provide the mechanisms to encourage neighbors to work and cooperate with one another. 4

5. ICT Infrastructure & connectivity gaps We are not connected 5

6. Regional Affordability We can change the current situation by enhancing regional terrestrial network connectivity and regional interconnection connectivity 6

7. What we have now in our region Resources are not shared TASIM 7

8. The Need for Intervention To overcome the region’s broadband inequality, to finance or assist in financing a major capital project and to stimulate and facilitate future private investment the government and International organizations interventions are required. A regional OFC network will help regional cooperation, promote knowledge connectivity, which will enable sharing of good practices as well as information required to derive the most benefits from improved regional connectivity. 8

9. What Afghanistan can do Wakhan Gulam Khan Border Farah road Delaram AFG- OFC ring 36 Fiber 10 Gbps/40 channel AFG- OFC ring 36 Fiber 10 Gbps/40 channel TAE- Initial capacity of STM4 9

10. The advantages of having a regional network A coherent regional terrestrial fiber optic network would benefit markets across the region and beyond, and help address the industry main concerns, namely the lack of reliable, cost-effective international bandwidth. Benefits to consumers: Better, more cost-effective connectivity in the region will greatly reduce consumer prices in less developed markets. Economic growth: Improvement in ICT infrastructure yields: Increased demand for the output of other industries New opportunities for production in other industries New goods and services for consumers In financial terms: the viability of constructing coherent regional terrestrial fiber optic network can likely be guaranteed by capturing even a small portion of bandwidth demand between Central and South Asian countries. 10 By some estimates, a one millisecond advantage could be worth up to $100 million a year for hedge fund companies. Shorter routes are therefore the key to speed – and profit.

11. What we have now At Regional level Afghanistan is connected with : Pakistan at two points (Spin boldak and Turkham), Iran at one point (at Islam Qalah),Tajikistan at one point (Shirkhan Border), Uzbekistan at one point ( Hyratan), Turkmenistan at two points( Aqina and Torghondi) 1. OFC Ring 2677 Km completed 2. OFC South- East 358 Km completed 3. OFC Central zone and North East 460 Km completed. Total length of OFC completed: 3495 Km All Systems on the Ring Route and Systems connecting the neighboring Countries will be upgraded by December 2015 to NG-DWDM (10Gbps 40 channels in C band) with 50GHz spacing upgradable to 100 GB 11

12. Future Plans Regional Connectivity: 1. Connection to China via Wakhan First priority (480Km from Faizabad to China Border) 2. Will connect to Kazaqistan via TajikistanFirst priority 3. Connection to Pakistan at the 3 rd pointFirst priority ( 33 Km from Khost to Ghulam Khan Border- Pakistan) 4. Connection to Iran at second pointSecond priority ( 220 Km from Delaram to Zaranj border to Zabul-Zahidan Iran ) 5. Connection to Iran at 3 rd pointThird priority (Farah- Iran ) The Afghanistan OFC network could be used as a transit path, connecting Central Asian countries to each other and to submarine OFC network through Pakistan. 12

13. What we need International support and regional cooperation to bridging gaps, between the networks in our region. In other to facilitate the formation of a regional terrestrial OFC network, using the existing infrastructure and bridging the gaps it is required to: All countries in our region should declare their interest in regard to the creation of a regional terrestrial OFC network. A technical committee should be formed to study the possibility and the challenges. All countries in our region should cooperate in building the gaps and sharing the resources to each other. 13

14. Contribution of stockholders Source : UN-ESCAP – terabit Consulting 14

15. Thank You! 15