Yerevan, April 18 /Mediamax/. The Commission on Regulation of Public Services (CRPS) of Armenia met today the request of “ArmenTel” Company, prolonging up to June 30 of 2007 the term of fulfillment of the commitments, provided for by the license N60.

Mediamax reports that, presenting today during the session of CRPS the report on the fulfillment of commitments, provided for by the license N60, the Director for Regulation of “ArmenTel” CJSC Hayk Faramazian noted that the Company on the whole fulfilled its license commitments on installation of telephones of settlements.

Hayk Faramazian, in particular, noted that in late 2006 “ArmenTel” put into operation the CDMA network for digitalization of telephone communication of 800 village communities, however, the realization of the program somewhat delayed because of hold-ups whole porting base stations of CDMA to the communication center in Yerevan.

Hayk Faramazian informed that at present, 400 villages have quality digital telephone communication due to the CDMA technology, and the whole number of villages, which are provided with communication, makes 500.

As a conclusion, the Director for Regulation of “ArmenTel” stated that the terms of the fulfillment of the project were also influenced by the severe climatic conditions in late fall and winter, as well as the process of the change of owners of the Company, which was accompanied by deceleration of supplies and mounting of the equipment.

As an administrative measure, the CRPS made a decision today to increase the number of villages, which should be provided with digital telephone connection, up to 810.

The General Director of “ArmenTel” Oleg Bliznyuk stated today that “the renunciation of monopoly will not have strong influence on our company, which is ready for healthy competition”.

Mediamax reports that Oleg Bliznyuk stated today that until “ArmenTel” renounces the monopoly rights for fixed telephone communication, all the license commitments of the company will be fulfilled.

According to him, the request, presented to the Commission on Regulation of Public Services of Armenia, on prolongation of the terms of fulfillment of commitments, provided for by the license, was reasoned by the fact that “the Company did not correctly estimate its physical abilities during the winter and did not manage to mount the necessary equipment”.

The General Director of “ArmenTel” expressed confidence that in the nearest future the work on the license commitments will be concluded. At present, there are about 1mln subscribers in the regions of Armenia in the zone of CDMA coverage, Oleg Bliznyuk stated.

The General Director of “ArmenTel” described as “unjustified and aggressive” the behavior of the defenders of consumers’ rights, who were discontent by the decision of the Commission on Regulation of Public Services (CRPS), which met the request on prolongation of the term for fulfillment of commitments, provided for by the license N60.

Answering the question of Mediamax today, Oleg Bliznyuk stated that the leadership of “ArmenTel” twice held meetings with the representative of NGOs, involved in protection of the rights of consumers. The Head of the Company stressed that “ArmenTel” always strives to reach consensus with the NGOs.

Oleg Bliznyuk stated that at present the only discord with the defenders of consumers’ rights is the issue of the debts, which formed as a result of the phenomenon, when the virus programs, which had entered the computers of a number of consumers, initiated unapproved international calls during the use of internet connection. At that, the General Director noted, at present “ArmenTel” considers the opportunities to restructure the debts of 400 subscribers.

Speaking during the session of CRPS today, the Chairman of the Union of Consumers’ Rights Protection Armen Poghosyan stated that “ArmenTel” did not fulfill its license commitments, and the Commission should apply the corresponding sanctions. Armen Poghosyan, in particular, proposed to revoke the license from “ArmenTel” and to cut down the tariffs for its services.

The expert of the Union of Consumers’ Rights Hakop Gharabekian stated that the actions of “ArmenTel” are contrary to the social policy of the Armenian authorities, and the Company is guided exclusively by its own interests. According to the expert, the CRPS should have postponed the consideration of the request of “ArmenTel” and give opportunity to organize public hearings.

Commenting on these statements, the General Director of “ArmenTel” Oleg Bliznyuk stated that “the process of digitalization of 800 villages costs much more than the license N60, and it is tactless to accuse us of not supporting the policy of the authorities of the country”.

The Chairman of CRPS Robert Nazarian also described as “groundless” the accusations and recommended the sides to organize monthly meetings for the discussion of “sore subjects” and inform the Commission on the results.