Armenian incumbent ArmenTel (Beeline) has digitised its fixed line network in the area of Gandzak in the Gegarkuni region, Arka News reports. In a market update, the telco said it had upgraded its PSTN with digital switching in 16 agglomerations across the country so far this year, involving some 3,500 telephony ports and more than 1,000 broadband ports. An unnamed source noted that the operator’s fixed line network totals over 8,500km.
In an unrelated development, Karabakh Telecom (K-Telecom) – the sole telecoms operator in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh – has revealed plans to introduce a low-cost mobile offer thanks to it striking a new mobile roaming deal with ArmenTel. Under the new agreement, from 1 January 2015 K-Telecom mobile customers will be able to make calls costing just AMD45 (USD0.1084) per minute, compared to the current rate of AMD232. K-Telecom’s roaming rates for VivaCell are AMD45 per minute and AMD224 for Orange Armenia.