OTE settles wrangle with Armenian government

The Greek telco OTE has confirmed that it has settled all outstanding disputes with the Armenian government in respect of ArmenTel, in which it owns a 90% stake. The pair had been involved in a long-running argument in which the Armenian government claimed that OTE had been remiss in its investment in ArmenTel. Matters came to a head in September 2003 when the Armenian government announced plans to revoke ArmenTel’s monopoly of the wireless arena after just six of a promised 15-year term, a move which prompted OTE to launch international arbitration proceedings. After over a year of litigation, the pair have now agreed to put aside their differences; ArmenTel will be issued with a new GSM licence which carries fewer rollout requirements, while a second wireless licence will me made available to a competitor.