TeleGeorgraphy, DC
Oct 27 2006
ArmenTel selects ZTE for DSL rollout
Armenia’s national PTO ArmenTel has signed a contract with ZTE of
China for the supply of the country’s first DSL broadband network,
writes Telecompaper. In August this year ArmenTel selected ZTE to
build it a CDMA450 wireless in the local loop (WiLL) network to
complement its existing fixed line infrastructure, providing coverage
in areas not presently served by the telco’s PSTN.
According to TeleGeography’s GlobalComms database, ArmenTel was
established in March 1995 as a joint venture between the Ministry of
Communications and US-owned Trans World Telecom. In 1997 the MTC
launched the privatisation of the telco, and at the end of that year
Greece’s Hellenic Telecommunications Organisation (OTE) won an
international tender, paying USD143 million for a 90% stake in
ArmenTel in March 1998. OTE has been looking to offload its holding
however, and in October 2006 UAE-based operator Etisalat was reported
to have won the tender for the stake, although it has since denied
this.