Viva’s General Director participated in the 10th Armenian Internet Governance Forum

Providing stable international Internet connectivity can be a challenge for landlocked countries. As networks increasingly rely on software functions and content delivery networks, data centers have become critically important for the smooth operation of the Internet. These and other topics were discussed at ArmIGF2025, the 10^th Armenian Internet Governance Forum, held in Yerevan on November 6.

The forum was organized by the “Internet Governance Council of the RA” interdepartmental group in cooperation with the Ministry of High-Tech Industry of the Republic of Armenia, “Internet Society” and “Internet Society Armenia Chapter” NGOs, with the support of ICANN, RIPE NCC, IGFSA and other international partners.

The conference was attended by Hakob Arshakyan, Deputy Speaker of the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia and Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Science and Technology Development Council under the Prime Minister of Armenia, Nerses Yeritsyan, the Director of the Information Systems Agency of Armenia; Armen Avetisian, the General Director of Viva; Vahan Hovsepyan, RIPE NCC, Senior Community and Public Policy Advisor, Member of the interdepartmental group of the IGC; Christopher Mondini, ICANN, Managing Director, Europe, and Vice President for Stakeholder Engagement, IGFSA Executive Committee member; Dmitry Vetlugin, the Director of Market Access and Sales for Central Asia at Eutelsat, Anja Gengo, IGF secretariat, Internet governance and policy advisor (participated online), as well as other representatives of the industry.

The anniversary ArmIGF2025 conference, which is an open and inclusive platform for multilateral dialogue, brought together representatives from the public and private sectors, technical and academic communities, civil society and international organizations to discuss ways to ensure reliable Internet connectivity in our country, taking into account the rapid technological progress in this field worldwide, as well as issues related to Internet governance.

“As the administrator of the .am and .հայ domains, and being among those who brought the Internet to Armenia, we remain deeply committed to the development and expansion of the Internet. It is an irreplaceable resource for educational and economic advancement, and it is difficult to imagine the country’s security and future without it. Therefore, to ensure Armenia’s internet resilience and security, the country must first and foremost address the issue of establishing its own alternative cable connection — either to Europe or to Asia,” said Albert Toneyan, Vice-Chairman of the Board of the “Internet Society” NGO.

According to the Vice-Chairman of the Board of the “Internet Society” NGO, in order to reduce dependence on external connectivity, it is also necessary to develop Internet Exchange Points (IXPs) and to take steps aimed at expanding broadband access even in the most remote communities.

At ArmIGF 2025, the Armenian internet community and specialists interested in Internet discussed issues such as digital governance, infrastructure development, content regulation, security and the balance of user rights.

“Viva’s network-building strategy is based on the principles of redundancy, technological diversity, and continuous innovation. We have deployed a highly diversified fiber-optic backbone that connects our European Points of Presence (PoPs) through completely independent terrestrial and undersea routes, thus creating a resilient global ring. Our hybrid architecture, which integrates terrestrial networks, a cloud platform, and NFV-based (Network Function Virtualization) solutions, is being prepared for the next stage — the deployment of satellite connectivity to ensure the highest level of availability for critical infrastructure. Our ultimate goal is to guarantee digital sovereignty and uninterrupted connectivity for Armenia under any circumstances,” said Armen Avetisian, Viva’s General Director.

Each year, ArmIGF is initiated by the “Internet Governance Council of the RA” interdepartmental group. The goal is to discuss and develop proposals for addressing various challenges related to Internet governance and development within a multistakeholder framework.

The IGF includes representatives from state, private and public institutions. The forum is organized in cooperation with the Ministry of High-Tech Industry of the Republic of Armenia, the “Internet Society” and the “Internet Society Armenia Chapter” NGOs.