PROCEDURE

for Review of Subscriber Complaints and Provision of Compensation in cases of Interruption or Degradation in the Quality of Public Electronic Communications Services

1. Identification of the Issue and Notification to Viva Armenia CJSC (hereinafter, the “Operator”)

1.1. In the event that a subscriber identifies an interruption (including an outage or malfunction) of public electronic communications services or a degradation of the quality of such services, the subscriber shall promptly notify the Operator thereof during the period of the service interruption or quality degradation.

1.2. The subscriber shall notify the Operator of the issue by calling the Operator’s 24/7 Contact Center (111 or +374 60 771111 for matters relating to services provided via the mobile communications network, and at +374 60 610000 for matters relating to services  provided via the fixed communications network), by sending a message to the Operator’s official email address (111@viva.am for matters relating to services provided via the mobile communications network, and fn-support@viva.am for matters relating to services provided via the fixed communications network), by contacting the Operator through its official social media pages, or by visiting any of the Operator’s service centers.

1.3. In the case of complaints regarding the quality of Internet access services, speed measurements shall be conducted exclusively through the software tool available on the Operator’s official website and in the “My Viva” mobile application.

2. Time Required for the Restoration of Interrupted Services in the Event of Service Interruption (Including an Outage or Malfunction) Due to Technical Reasons Beyond the Subscriber’s Control

2.1. In the event of a service interruption (including an outage or malfunction) caused by technical reasons beyond the subscriber’s control, the time required to restore the interrupted services may be up to twenty-four (24) hours.

2.2. In the event of service interruption, the following periods shall not be included in the time period specified in Clause 2.1 of this Procedure:

2.2.1.    the period during which it is impossible for the Operator to restore the services due to circumstances attributable to the subscriber; 

2.2.2.    circumstances beyond the Operator’s control arising in the course of construction (installation or relocation) of line infrastructure;

2.2.3.    the periods of permissible planned or emergency interruptions of power supply established by the Public Services Regulatory Commission of the Republic of Armenia;

2.2.4.    the period of service interruption resulting from the permissible suspension of the subscriber’s electricity supply;

2.2.5.    the cases stipulated in Article 45(1), sub-clauses 1–3 and 5–6 of the RA Law on Electronic Communications.

3. Procedure for Submission of Written Applications

3.1. Interruption of Services (Including Outage or Malfunction)

3.1.1.    In the event of a service interruption (including an outage or malfunction), where the calculated duration of interruption of services provided via fixed and mobile communications networks (including an outage or malfunction) exceeds twenty-four (24) hours (excluding the cases and periods specified in Clauses 2.2.1–2.2.5 of this Procedure), the subscriber shall submit a written application for compensation or reimbursement of prepaid amounts collected by the Operator no later than the expiry of the deadline established by the Operator for payment for the services, or no later than the 15th day of the month following the billing period.

3.1.2.    The written application submitted by the subscriber to the Operator shall include, at a minimum, substantiated information regarding the non-compliance of the provided services with the contractual terms, as well as a statement confirming that the Operator was duly notified in advance (during the service interruption) of the identified service interruption issue.

3.2. Service Quality Degradations

3.2.1.    The Subscriber shall submit a written application for compensation or reimbursement of prepaid amounts collected by the Operator no later than the expiry of the deadline established by the Operator for payment for the services, or no later than the 15th day of the month following the billing period.

3.2.2.    The written application submitted by the Subscriber to the Operator shall include, at a minimum, substantiated information regarding the non-compliance of the provided services with the contractual terms, as well as a statement confirming that the Operator was duly notified in advance (during the period of service quality degradation) of the identified issue of service quality degradation.

3.2.3.    In the event of a decrease in download and upload data transfer speeds of Internet access services, the subscriber shall submit to the Operator, together with the written application, measurement data of the download and upload data transfer speeds of Internet access services obtained through the Operator’s software system during the period of service quality degradation.

4. Timeframe for Examination of Applications and Procedure for Compensation

4.1. The maximum period for responding to subscribers' complaints regarding service interruption or degradation in service quality is (15) working days.

4.2. Where the calculated duration of service interruption via fixed and mobile communications networks exceeds twenty-four (24) hours (excluding the cases and periods specified in Clauses 2.2.1–2.2.5 of this Procedure), as well as in cases of service quality degradation, the subscriber’s application shall be upheld and the Operator shall provide compensation to the subscriber, if, based on the subscriber’s application, the Operator’s investigation and verification confirm the existence of a service interruption or service quality degradation subject to compensation in accordance with this Procedure. Moreover, in cases of degradation in data transmission quality of broadband Internet access services via fixed and mobile communications networks, the subscriber’s application shall be upheld and the Operator shall provide compensation to the subscriber if, based on the subscriber’s application, the Operator’s investigation and verification establish that during the period specified in the subscriber’s application:

4.2.1.    for fixed-line Internet access services, the minimum actual speed was less than 20 percent of the maximum (advertised) speed provided under the relevant tariff plan (package), or less than 2 Mbps; or

4.2.2.    for fixed-line Internet access services, the normally available speed over at least 95 percent of the time during the relevant day was less than 70 percent of the maximum (advertised) speed provided under the relevant tariff plan (package), or less than 2 Mbps; or

4.2.3.    for mobile network Internet access services, the minimum download and upload speeds did not comply with the minimum speeds for mobile Internet access services established by the Operator in the General Terms and Conditions for the Provision of Mobile Electronic Communications Services.

4.3. The download and upload data transfer speed of broadband Internet access services is the speed of connection of the end-user device to the service provider’s public electronic communications network (in the case of a fixed-line network, through a wired connection).

4.4. In the cases specified in Clause 4.2 of this Procedure, where the Subscriber’s application is upheld, the Operator shall not charge a service fee for at least the period of service interruption or the period of service quality degradation. Where the service fee has been prepaid, it shall be reimbursed in an amount not less than the service fee calculated for the period of service interruption, but not exceeding the total service fee for the relevant billing period.

4.5. Taking into account the specific features of convergent tariff plans (packages), in particular the fact that they include fundamentally different types of services (such as mobile communications, fixed-line communications, IP television services, etc.), for the purposes of calculating compensation under this Procedure, the value of the convergent tariff plan (package) shall be equally divided by the number of service types included therein (e.g., mobile communications, fixed-line communications, IP television services, etc.), and only the value of the service(s) that were interrupted or provided with inadequate quality shall be taken as the basis for calculating compensation.

4.6. In the context of decision-making on the examination of applications and the provision of compensation under this Procedure, due consideration shall be given to the material factors affecting the maximum (advertised) download and upload speeds of data transmission for fixed-line Internet access services, as defined in the General Terms and Conditions for the Provision of the relevant services published on the Operator’s official website, as well as the conditions ensuring the realistically achievable maximum (advertised) data transmission speeds for mobile Internet access services and the material factors affecting the same.

4.7. This Procedure shall not apply to the “IP Television” service provided directly by the Operator or by third parties designated by the Operator. 

4.8.  The maximum period for the provision of compensation shall be the last day of the second month following the month in which the service interruption or service quality degradation occurred.