ICON COMMUNICATIONS EXTENDS SERVICE COVERAGE
TeleGeography
Sept 4 2009
Armenian WiMAX start-up iCON Communications has extended its broadband
coverage to include the Nor Norq and Avan districts of the capital
Yerevan. In a statement the company said the move is part of the
planned expansion of services to cover all of Yerevan in the coming
months. iCON’s latest extension means the company can now offers
broadband WiMAX coverage to Nor Norq districts 2-8, parts of district
1, and the southern and central sections of Avan. In total, iCON’s
network now covers over 70 square kilometres, taking in the following
districts: Kentron, Arabkir, Achapnyak, Vahakni Taghamas, Kasakh
village, Zeitun, Kayaran district, Nor Norq sections 2-8, and Avan.
iCON Communications’ CEO Adam Kablanian said: ‘We are very excited
about this significant extension of our coverage area. The Nor Norq
and Avan communities are home to thousands of residents that can now
benefit from improved access to the global community of information,
commerce and personal communication … Also, because iCON customers
can access the internet anywhere in our coverage area, our existing
customers can now use their iCON modems in Nor Norq and Avan, just
as our new customers in these districts can use their modems anywhere
else in the city where we provide coverage.’
According to TeleGeography’s GlobalComms Database, in October 2008
Alcatel-Lucent was selected to deploy and maintain a commercial WiMAX
802.16e-2005 (Rev-e) network for iCON in Armenia. iCON is looking to
provide a range of services including high speed internet access, VoIP
and VPNs to business users, government organisations and residential
customers. To support its launch, iCON has secured a multi-million
dollar investment by a multinational holding company specialising in
telecommunication investments. The financial infusion will accelerate
the WiMAX rollout across the country. The regulator the PSRC gave iCON
permission to expand its activities to other parts of the country in
late-October 2008.