Internet in Armenia

Slow, Expensive, But Increasingly Important

Author(s): Onnik Krikorian
Editor(s): Iris Kempe, Matthias Neumann, Robert Orttung, Jeronim Perovic, Lili Di Puppo
Series: Caucasus Analytical Digest (CAD)
Issue: 15
Pages: 2-4
Publisher(s): Center for Security Studies (CSS), ETH Zurich; Jefferson Institute, Washington D.C.; Heinrich Böll Foundation, Tbilisi; Research Centre for East European Studies, University of Bremen
Publication Year: 2010

Armenia's geopolitical situation in a region where it is in conflict with two of its four neighbors and the troubled privatization of the ArmenTel monopoly in the late 1990s mean that, in regional terms, the country's Internet connection speeds remain the slowest, prices remain the highest, and actual penetration remains the lowest. Nevertheless, Internet coverage is increasing in Armenia, especially with the arrival of three cellular phone companies in the market. Additionally, blogs moved in to fill the information gap when a 20-day state of emergency in the aftermath of the bitterly disputed 2008 presidential election imposed restrictions on the mass media. As a result, international donors, such as the World Bank and USAID, are interested in expanding and improving existing infrastructure, and especially using it to empower marginalized groups and communities in society. Even so, it remains to be seen whether such plans can succeed before Armenia's borders with Azerbaijan and especially Turkey are reopened.

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