The largest telecommunications company in Armenia today is the Armenia Telephone Company (ArmenTel). Since 2007, it has been wholly owned by VimpelCom Ltd., a Russian-Norwegian company valued at about € 342 million (US$ 384 million). ArmenTel, using the trade name Beeline, now provides mobile and fixed telephone and internet service throughout Armenia. Since 2007, the company has offered broadband internet services via asymmetric digital subscriber line (ADSL) technology under the brand name HiLine. This provides fast internet service over copper telephone lines. In 2008, ArmenTel also launched the first 3G cell network in Armenia. In March 2012 it began offering […]
Foreign companies mostly control the telecommunications sector in Armenia: international holding companies, companies founded by other governments, and companies registered in various offshore zones. Russian companies dominate this sector, as they do other economic sectors in Armenia. Armenian government officials, both current and former, and their relatives own shares in the telecommunication sector. These shares are hidden within a web of offshore companies. Companies providing internet service in Armenia also supply telephone service, both cellular and landline. According to 2013 statistics, 46.3 percent of Armenia’s population uses the internet; 40 percent of households own a computer; and 35.6 percent of […]
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