YEREVAN (Armenpress)–The Yerevan Institute of Physics–the Yerevan Engineering Institute–and the Institute of Automated Systems and Information submitted a request to have a satellite antenna installed at their premises. The antenna will be provided by NATO to ensure Armenian scientific and educational institutions participation in its Virtual Silk Road program.
Ruben Mkrtchian–a professor of the Institute of Physics said that the satellite antenna would provide Armenian scientific centers with inexpensive and fast Internet access. The satellite will also be beneficial to Georgia–Azerbaijan and former Soviet republics of Central Asia by providing inexpensive and quick Internet access as well.
The entire cost of the program is $3.5 million. NATO will provide $2.5 million and CISCO (US) and DESY (German) companies will each provide $500,000.
The satellite connection and Internet service will be provided by Franco-Turkish EURASIASAT and German DESY companies correspondingly. The satellite will be installed in Yerevan by the end of spring.