In 2014,
Rostelecom's investments in Armenia amounted to about AMD 3 billion and in 2015
the company is expected to invest as much as in 2014. In 2013, the investments
amounted to 5.5 bln AMD, Hayk Faramazyan, Director General of GNC-ALFA CJSC
(subsidiary of Rostelecom) said at a press conference on December 23. (On Dec
23, the AMD/USD exchange rate was 456.17 AMD/1USD).
Faramazyan
said that new projects aimed at enhancing the communication quality and
providing technologically new services will be implemented in 2015. The company
focuses on improving and expanding the payment system. He added that the
billing system integrated with the Armenian commercial banks enables customers
to make online payments. He also pointed out that in 2015 the company is going
to launch a new portal, which will also allow the customers to subscribe for
the services online.
The
Director General said that next year the company is planning to introduce
technologically new IP Television services and enhance the qualitative and
quantitative indices. "The high competition encourages the company to take
regular measures to improve the service quality", he said. In 2015, the
company is also going to make a decision on construction of a data center and
expand the geography of its services.
Faramazyan
pointed out that Rostelecom's coverage in Yerevan is 80% and exceeds 50%
throughout the republic.
He called
the outgoing year quite successful for Rostelecom, because it managed to launch
"Fiber to the home" (GPON) technology in 15 towns of Armenia. The
specified technology is one of the advanced technologies at the moment. A total
of 26 sales and services centers were opened and more than 100 jobs were
created. By late 2014, the number of subscribers exceeded 26 thsd (2.5 times as
many as in early 2014), he said. Large investments were made in enhancement of
the communication quality. In particular, the construction of a circular-type
structure with the capacity of 40 Gb/sec was completed in Yerevan and this
enabled provision of high-speed and reliable Internet access. Due to that, the
subscribers got an opportunity to use heavier content.
To note,
"GNC-ALFA" CJSC was founded in 2007. The company became a member of
Rostelecom group of companies in February 2012 and since 18 December 2012 it
has been providing telecommunication services in RA under
"Rostelecom" brand as a subsidiary. One of the leading
telecommunications companies, Rostelecom Armenia already provides internet
access, fixed telephony services and TV services available to both physical
bodies and corporate clients. The network of Rostelecom Armenia is solely based
on fiber-optic cable (FOC) infrastructure covering 80% of the territory of RA
and spreading for over 3000km. It is connected to region's main terrestrial
networks and largest traffic exchange nodes as well as international channels
of Iran and Georgia. The corporate client list of the company includes not just
a number of local banks and corporations, but also the Government of Republic
of Armenia, state institutions and international organizations.