ArmenTel Internet Monopoly Scrapped
Following the sale of Armentel by the Greek OTE, RFE/RL reports that an agreement has been reached to finally end ArmenTel’s controversial monopoly on internet connectivity into the country. However, no word in this article if this is in return for the 10 percent of shares in ArmenTel the Government owns, but anyway.
As I’ve mentioned before, it’s been frustrating to be sitting here in Yerevan paying $45-50 a month for a dialup when ASDL costs $35 a month in Tbilisi. Hopefully, that will now soon change. It’s really about time.
Exclusive rights to all forms of telecommunication were a key term of ArmenTel’s 1998 takeover by OTE. The Greek telecom giant was forced to abandon its grip on mobile telephony two years ago after its dramatic failure to develop the wireless service in Armenia. But it resisted strong pressure for a similar liberalization of the Internet market.
Armenia’s external Internet traffic has until now been carried out through a single fibro-optic cable running to neighboring Georgia, with ArmenTel failing to develop alternative satellite channels of communication. Local Internet providers say this is why they have been unable inexpensive high-speed service to corporate and individual users. That has in turn been widely regarded as a serious obstacle to the development of information technology, one of the most promising sectors of Armenia’s economy.
Samvel Arabajian, a member of the state regulatory body, said the end of the monopoly should remedy the situation. “We expect that competition will lead to a drop in prices and an increase in quality,” he told RFE/RL.
The full story is here, and Raffi at Cilicia.com also has something on this long overdue news. For once it appears as if we have some genuinely good news for a change, and so far there doesn’t seem to be any strings attached.
The only thing that I didnt get is that why it should take a year to put this into practice? Isnt thins another way for justifying the Russian monopoly of the Armenian economy? Or maybe it is just a mean to gain popularity before the elections?
Why would Vimpelcom or any other company voluntarily decrease its powers?
It is too fishy.
Comment by Haik — December 20, 2006 @ 2:39 pm