ARMENTEL USES PUNITIVE MEASURES TO SUBSCRIBERS, UNION OF PUBLIC DEFENDERS STATES

Noyan Tapan
Jul 11 2007

YEREVAN, JULY 11, NOYAN TAPAN. ArmenTel, having the monopoly of fixed
telephone communication, by cutting off subscribers’ telephones in
case of their not paying for some service, in fact, uses a punitive
measure, the right of which it does not have. Aram Grigorian, the
Chairman of the Union of Public Defenders organization, said this at
the July 10 round table.

In his words, if a subscriber has paid the subscription payment, but
has not paid for international calls, ArmenTel can stop providing
him international phone communication services and not cut off his
telephone. A. Grigorian said that a subscriber deprived of phone
communication is also deprived of the possibility to call ambulances
free of charge, fire-fighting services, and a number of other special
services.

The union is going to hold a signature collection and in case of
collecting 10 thousand signatures of the fixed telephone network
subscribers it is going to apply to ArmenTel’s management and
to the RA Public Services Regulatory Commission. The union also
intends to hold actions of protest near the buildings of these two
organizations expecting active participation of other NGOs, as well
as active citizens.

The participants of the discussion also attached importance to the
differentiation of tariffs of services provided by ArmenTel. Grigor
Saghian, the Deputy Director of the Arminco company, said that the
subscription payment for fixed telephone communication also includes
the right of 360 minutes of free monthly talk, which, however, the
subscriber cannot exercise in the case that his telephone is cut off.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress