Below is an interview with Bruno Duthoit, General Director, “ORANGE ARMENIA” closed joint-stock company (CJSC).

NEWS.am: Mr. Duthoit, Orange Armenia launched activities in Armenia when many other companies phased down their businesses and withdrew their capital. Did the crisis interfere with the company’s plans?

Bruno Duthoit: Not at all. The crisis has not in any way affected our programs. Moreover, we invested even more than we had planned when we participated in the licensing contest announced by the RA Government. All the expenses, including the license fee, will have totaled €140m.

NEWS.am: Your company has been working in the Armenian mobile communication and Internet market for over a month. Have you made any progress? Have your expectations come true? Has Orange Armenia been able to gain a firm foothold in the market?

Bruno Duthoit: It is somewhat difficult to summarize anything now, as we have been working for only a month and a half. As regards mobile communication, our expectations are coming true. As we hoped, our offers were welcomed in Armenia. In the Internet communication field, we were pleasantly surprised to see that the demand exceeded our expectations. We have a total of 120 customers, with 7,500 of them being Internet users.

NEWS.am: Some customers are dissatisfied with the speed, which is lower than the previously announced 7.2Mb/s. What are you doing to ensure quality? What does next year hold for the Armenian Internet users?

Bruno Duthoit: First of all, I would like to note that our company has never promised 7.2Mb/s. We were speaking of a speed up to 7.2Mb, and the modem we offered was designed to ensure this speed. I have already said that we encountered some problems with Internet speed. I can say we have fallen victim to our own success, as our fortnightly sales reached the level we had planned for the end of the year. After that we increased the network potential and the speed, which took two or three weeks, as it was technically impossible to do that in a shorter period. It is almost three weeks since we tripled the capacity, while the capacity of the international channel was doubled. But, in some places, particularly in the Yerevan center, we still have problems with a stable speed and are working to resolve them. Providing high-speed and high-quality Internet communication is our priority.

NEWS.am: Your company is known to be going to import and sell iPhones. What are the sales terms? Can your customers receive them on late payment terms?

Bruno Duthoit: I cannot yet tell you when we start selling iPhones. The sale day is to be fixed in cooperation with the Apple Company. As to credit sale, I should note that iPhones will be sold at a reasonable price, but we do not plan any credit sale.

NEWS.am: You are managing a company which recently launched its activities in Armenia. What is your opinion of the local investment environment? Have you already seen the strong and weak points of the market? Your comments, please…

Bruno Duthoit: It is a difficult question to answer. I will try to differentiate three kinds of peculiarities I have noticed. First, any problems can be resolved in Armenia. I can state with confidence that it is not possible in all countries. The second advantage is that many highly skilled specialists devoted to their profession are working in Armenia. Thirdly, people promptly respond to offers in Armenia, which is typical of the country. On the other hand, this makes us work hard and seek leadership so as not to lose our customers.

In conclusion, on behalf of the company staff and partners, as well as myself, I would like congratulate all the Orange Armenia customers and all the Armenian citizens on the New Year and Christmas and wish them success. We hope we will be able to render higher-quality communication services to them in the coming months and years.

T.P.