Viva extends 5G+ to southern Armenia and cites coverage of about 80% of inhabited areas

Viva, the Armenian mobile operator, said on 13 October that its 5G+ network is now available in seven more towns in the south of the country: Goris, Kapan, Kajaran and Sisian in Syunik, and Jermuk, Vayk and Yeghegnadzor in Vayots Dzor. In a press release, the company said the network now covers about 80 per cent of Armenia's inhabited areas. ARKA Telecom carried the same announcement the same day.

The release says Viva launched 5G+ in July 2026 in Yerevan and in cities in Shirak, Lori, Tavush, Gegharkunik, Kotayk and Aragatsotn. Its headline puts the total at Yerevan and 32 cities across eight regions, but the text does not list all 32. Viva reported a speed test in Goris of 522 Mbps download and 91.24 Mbps upload. The test was run by the company, and the release does not describe the method or the device.

General Director Armen Avetisian said: "Trust is earned not through statements, but through consistently high-quality connectivity." Viva also notes that Ookla's Speedtest named it the operator of Armenia's fastest mobile network for the first half of 2026, an award announced in July.

What the release does not say

The release does not define 5G+, name the frequency bands in use, give a number of base stations or report coverage as a share of the population. Viva's separate 5G+ page calls it "the one and only 5G+ network in Armenia", states that a USIM or eSIM is needed, and links to a list of settlements dated October 2026, but it does not say whether the network runs on standalone or non-standalone architecture.

On spectrum, the release says Viva made what it calls the largest investment in Armenian history to acquire radio frequencies, which doubled its previous frequency resources. It gives no amount and does not say which licence it refers to.

The coverage claim is also on a different basis from a competitor's. In November 2025 Ucom said 5G was available in 47 cities and that more than 94 per cent of the population had access to it, according to ARKA Telecom. Viva's "about 80 per cent of inhabited areas" measures areas rather than people, so the two figures cannot be compared directly.

Licence obligations

The only published spectrum purchase by Viva in the sources reviewed dates from April 2025. Decisions of the Public Services Regulatory Commission (PSRC) dated 2 April 2025 gave Viva Armenia a 10-year licence for 2300 to 2350 MHz and 2350 to 2400 MHz, for which it paid AMD 2.5 billion to the state budget, ARKA reported, citing the Ministry of High Technologies Industry. The licence carries phased 5G obligations:

• Within three years, outdoor mobile broadband on at least 98 per cent of interstate highways, with at least 10 per cent on 5G.
• Within three years, 5G outdoor coverage of at least 20 per cent of the administrative territory of Yerevan, Gyumri, Vanadzor and Kapan.
• Within five years, at least 40 per cent of the territory of each of those four cities.
• Within seven years, 5G outdoor coverage of at least 60 per cent of the administrative territory of every urban settlement in Armenia.

The 13 October expansion therefore reaches Kapan, one of the four cities named in the early targets. The release does not say how much of Kapan's territory is covered, or whether the 5G+ network runs on the 2300 to 2400 MHz band, so it cannot be checked against the 20 per cent milestone. ARKA's report does not say when the three-year period starts.

Viva's payment of AMD 2.5 billion can be set against an earlier state estimate. In November 2024 a deputy minister told a parliamentary committee that the state could earn at least AMD 7.5 billion in one-time income from competitive allocation of the 2.3 to 2.4 GHz and 3.6 to 3.8 GHz bands, plus about AMD 5.4 billion a year in usage fees, ARKA reported. The reports reviewed do not show how the two amounts relate, because the estimate covers two bands and the payment covers the 2300 to 2400 MHz band.

Correction, 24 October 2026: An earlier version said the seven-year duty covers 60 per cent of the administrative territory of every settlement in Armenia. The Public Services Regulatory Commission's decision applies it to every urban settlement.