September 28, 2010 - 13:07 AMT
ARTICLE
Half of Armenian population has access to Internet
Review of September 20-27 telecommunication and information technology events.
Internet World Stats usage and population statistics has published the results of Armenia-based survey as of June 2010. 1,396,550 Internet users (47.1% of the population) were reported in Armenia according to the Public Services Regulatory Committee.

Armenia’s virtual exhibition hall at Expo 2010 Shanghai was awarded a special prize for innovative solution established by the chief sponsor of the exhibition, Dassault Systemes S.A., a leading company specializing in 3D software. Armenia-projected virtual exhibition hall will be available on the internet for years to come.

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Orange Armenia range Armenia has launched iPhone 4 sales, setting the price of AMD 305 and 360 thousand for 16 and 32 Gb models respectively. Special tariff plans for iPhone owners, including free conversations, video calls and internet traffic for time-limits stipulated, are offered. Apple’s new iPhone 4 was unveiled on June 7. The new device, the iPhone 4, has about 100 new features that aren't available in the current iPhone 3GS. Some of the biggest changes include a higher-resolution screen, a better battery, a 5 megapixel HD photo and video camera, a gyroscope for improved rotation sensitivity.

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The Armenian government approved Mariam and Grapalat fonts as compulsory ones for the official circulation of documents. The decision was adopted due to the necessity of introduction and usage of Armenian fonts supporting Unicode in the official circulation of documents, as well as with consideration of provisions of the RA Law on Copyrights, Armenia's international obligations concerning copyrights, as well as criteria set by the Armenian Computer Fonts standard. The aforementioned fonts were elaborated in 2008 by designer Edik Gabuzyan, the head of the Department on Maintenance and Elaboration of Armenian Fonts at the Armenian National Literature Chamber. The two fonts are compatible with both IBM and Macintosh computers.

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Synopsys Armenia was included among 12 finalists for the Secretary of State's Award for Corporate Excellence. Since 1999, the Department of State has used the ACE to recognize American companies who are global leaders in corporate social responsibility. U.S. businesses are nominated by embassies on every continent. This year U.S. ambassadors submitted 78 nominations among which 12 companies were selected as finalists.

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State Commission for the Protection of Economic Competition in the Republic of Armenia (SCPEC) has decided to fine ArmenTel CJSC at the amount of AMD 500 thousand for ‘unfair competition’. SCPEC chairman Artak Shaboyan said that ArmenTel misled Hi-Line service users, who connected to Internet in the framework of campaign announced in March 2010. Although the advertisement promised “AMD 0 for connection, AMD 0 for modem and AMD 0 for the first month of usage”, subscribers, who experienced difficulties in connecting the internet themselves, had to resort to a paid service (AMD 300) of a third company – AA Soft – which delivered modems according to an agreement with ArmenTel. Meanwhile ArmenTel juridical department head David Sandukhchyan opposed the decision, saying that the “SCPEC expert do not see the difference between ‘service activation’ and ‘computer setting’.” The company intends to appeal the Commission’s decision in the court.

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3G roaming is available for Beeline subscribers in the networks of 110 operators of 72 countries, GPRS roaming – in networks of 245 operators in 129 countries, while CAMEL-roaming – in networks of 128 operators in 66 countries. As of September 23, 2010, bidirectional 3G roaming and GPRS roaming with a range of operators of Austria, Belgium, Lichtenstein, Finland, Syria, Mexico, etc., has been launched for Beeline subscribers. The total number of ArmenTel roaming-partners makes 498 operators in 220 countries worldwide.

Gayane Mirzoyan / PanARMENIAN News