K-TELECOM’S COMPLAINT AGAINST ARMENTEL TO BE EXAMINED ON MARCH 10 AT
COMMISSION ON ECONOMIC COMPETITION
YEREVAN, MARCH 9, NOYAN TAPAN. The RA State Commission on Protection
of Economic Competition will examine on March 10 the complaint of
K-Telecom (VivaCell) company against ArmeTel. According to the
commission’s press service, according to a letter recieved from
K-Telecom, ArmenTel abuses its dominating position, which results in
considerable losses for K-Telecom and creates an unhealthy competition
atmosphere on the mobile phone communication services market. ArmenTel
announced in late December 2005 that an extremely low per-minute
tariff of 2 drams was set for making calls within the network for
those of its mobile phone communication subscribers who used its
services for over a year. According to K-Telecom, ArmenTel is using
this tariff not only in the mobile phone network but also in case of
making calls to the fixed line phone network. K-Telecom cannot offer
such low tariffs, since the tariff paid by the company to ArmrenTel
for commutation alone is much higher. ArmenTel pointed out in its
explanations that there was not any abuse of its dominating position,
as the move intiated by the company was a special commercial offer to
be valid during a limited period and for a limited conversation
time. To recap, the RA Public Services Regulatory Commission, to which
K-Telecom also applied with respect to the same issue, noted in its
decision that the above mentioned tariff’s use by ArmenTel includes
some characteristics of anticompetitive behaviour.