When will new landline connection operators enter the Armenian market?

Yerevan /Mediamax/. New operators, who have received number capacities and non-geographic codes, are free in choosing technologies to provide landline telephone connection services.

Head of Telecommunication Department of Public Service Regulatory Commission (PSRC) of Armenia Gevorg Gevorgyan stated this in an interview to Mediamax. According to him, in this issue the Commission keeps to a neutral stance and leaves the right to choose cable or wireless technologies to the companies.

At that Gevorg Gevorgyan informed that according to the order on providing and using number capacities, the regulator has fixed a single standard for all licensed entities: companies are obliged in the course of a year to start providing landline connection services and use 60% of their number resource. Otherwise, the Commission has the right to recall the unused part.

Gevorg Gevorgyan stated that the new operators will be able to provide services after signing agreements on interconnect with “ArmenTel” and “VivaCell-MTS” Companies. The Commission has established a two-month term for negotiations between the dominating operator and the new companies, and if the sides do not agree in the established time period, the disputes will be solved with the participation of PSRC.

Head of PSRC Telecommunication Department expressed confidence that by the end of the year new players will undoubtedly appear in landline communication market of Armenia.

Head of “ArmenTel” Public Relations Service Anush Begloyan stated in an interview to Mediamax that the talks on interconnect are still in process.

“We continue the negotiation process with new companies. We have a month yet to clarify all issues”, Anush Begloyan stated.

Director of “Web” LLC Albert Toneyan stated in an interview to Mediamax that his company intends to provide services of telephone connection to subscribers via internet connection and at the moment it carries out works on reequipping its network. According to him, in September-October, the works on implementing broadband internet will be concluded and the company hopes to provide services to 1000-2000 subscribers.

Albert Toneyan stated that the company has not yet initiated negotiations on signing a contract on interconnect with “ArmenTel”. According to him, since PSRC has established distinct game rules, the possible difficulties will be “of purely artificial nature”.

Technical Director of “Bionet” Company Martin Petrosyan called in an interview to Mediamax the technology for provision of telephone services by the company a “commercial secret”. According to him, the real product will be presented by the end of 2009.

Technical Director of Arminco Grigory Saghyan stated in an interview to Mediamax that the company is ready to provide telephone connection “even tomorrow”; however, there are certain obstacles on the way of doing that. According to him, PSRC has not so far provided International Signalling Point Codes (ISPC), and “ArmenTel” refused in written form to conclude an agreement on interconnect. Grigory Saghyan noted that “VivaCell-MTS” mobile operator expressed readiness to conclude an agreement anytime.

Grigory Saghyan found it difficult to name the dates when Arminco will enter the landline connection services market, “since “ArmenTel” will do everything for the new operators not to enter the market”.

He informed that Arminco will provide telephone connection basing on SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) technology.

Commenting on Mediamax’s request on the statements by Grigory Saghyan, Legal Director of “ArmenTel” David Sandukhchyan stated that ““Arminco” really sent a request on connection to “ArmenTel”, however the technical conditions, suggested by it, did not correspond to the practice of “ArmenTel” CJSC on connecting telephone networks with non-geographic numeration codes”.