WASHINGTON-The Iraqi government’s issuance of mobile-phone licenses appears to have been pushed back from next month to June, a delay attributed to political uncertainties associated with the scheduled Dec. 15 election of a new parliament.
The licensing is being watched closely by Motorola Inc., Lucent Technologies Inc. and other wireless vendors here and overseas that supply infrastructure and phones to Iraq’s three wireless operators. The three carriers were awarded short-term permits in December 2003 by the now-defunct U.S.-led Coalition for Provisional Authority.
Next year’s cell-phone licensing by Iraq’s National Communications and Media Commission follows much overlooked progress in the war-battered country’s telecom sector, which in two years has gone from having relatively few wireless subscribers to 3 million today.
Given the investment of the three GSM mobile-phone operators-IraQna (originally central Iraq), MTC Atheer (originally southern Iraq) and AsiaCell (originally northern Iraq)-it is unclear how NCMC will proceed. The three wireless companies began as regional carriers, but have expanded operations such that there is competition in some regions.
“Mobile-phone service is one of the true success stories of the last two years,” said Norm Sandler, director of global strategic issues for Motorola. “With a subscriber base around 3 million and increasing competition, great strides have been made for the Iraqi people under very difficult conditions. We hope that the next round of licenses will advance the development of a robust telecommunications in Iraq. Motorola has a continued commitment to being part of that process.”
In addition to building cell-phone networks, the reconstruction of Iraq also has offered U.S. and foreign telecom companies opportunities in the construction of large-scale first-responder wireless networks and wireless local loop systems. Plans for WLL deployment-which could provide a pathway for CDMA technology in the country-are not as far along as cell-phone and AFRN operations.
