Albert Gore describes Velcom sale as a step towards democracy

Former U.S. vice president Albert Gore who was this year awarded the Nobel Peace Prize described the arrival of the Telecom Austria at the Belarusian market as "a virus of freedom". He said this in a statement on October 24 in Vienna, reports the Austrian news agency APA. In early October 2007, the Austrian company bought 70 percent of assets from the Cyprus-based SB Telecom, the owner of Velcom, the leading mobile communication operator in Belarus.

In the view of Gore, this can change a lot, because communication promotes democracy through the reduced control over the access to knowledge.