National Assembly discussed the issue of introduction of cha

[Azat]

An extraordinary session of the National Assembly discussed the issue of amending the law on communications, which would require that introduction of charges for local calls can take place only once all telephone stations throughout the country have been digitized. Authors of the draft amendments say that if charges for local calls are introduced before all stations are digitized, this would constitute a social discrimination, which is prohibited by Armenian Constitution. Earlier, the ArmenTel management had announced that the full digitalization of telephone networks will be completed by the end of 2002.

Minister of Justice David Harutyunian reminded that the Government has already voiced its opposition to the introduction of charges for local calls, and that the Government has serious legal grounds for its position on this issue, since ArmenTel has broken some of its license requirements. He noted that once the proposed amendments are passed, ArmenTel can take the case to the international court, which could have undesirable consequences for Armenia. The debate will continue tomorrow.