Karabakh Telecom (K-Telecom) – the sole telecoms operator in the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh – has been accused of providing illegal mobile communications services within the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh. The Azerbaijani foreign ministry, which has a territorial claim on the region, alleges the operator is providing illegal calls to another mobile operator, Altel of Kazakhstan, noting: ‘The Azerbaijani embassy in Kazakhstan has already been instructed in order to investigate the matter and take necessary measures’. The government of Azerbaijan argues that K-Telecom’s roaming contracts are in violation of its telecommunications space and have already been terminated in many other CIS countries.

However, in a related development Arka News reports that K-Telecom has successfully modified its roaming rates in Armenia, following negotiations with Armenian fixed and mobile operator ArmenTel. As a result of the improved roaming deal, K-Telecom subscribers can now roam on the ArmenTel network, and ArmenTel customers will be able to use its services in the mountainous Karabakh republic for AMD45 (USD0.947) per minute. The price was previously AMD232 per minute for post-paid subscribers and AMD235 per minute for pre-paid users.