WASHINGTON-Siyamend Othman, head of the Iraqi National Communications and Media Commission, said mobile phone and wireless local loop licensing will be top priorities in the country this year.
Othman met this week with representatives from the Federal Communications Commission, the telecom industry and other agencies to exchange ideas about telecom regulation.
Othman said he planned to stick to his schedule to hold new competitions to license two to four national mobile phone operators in June.
In late 2003, the now defunct U.S.-led Coalition Provisional Authority issued three regional mobile licenses that have since become national in scope. The licenses had two-year terms, but were extended for six months in December. The three mobile phone operators are Orascom Telecom Iraq Corp., Asiacell and MTC Atheer Telecom. All three operators use GSM technology, which is predominant in the Middle East.
Motorola Inc. is an equipment supplier to two of the cellular operators.
Yesterday was the deadline for WLL applications. The NCMC expects to issue three national WLL licenses, one of which has already been granted to the state telecom operator. The other two WLL licenses are scheduled to be awarded via auction next month. U.S.-developed CDMA technology is expected to be used in WLL operations.
Othman said that while security remains an overarching issue, another big challenge is attracting skilled telecom lawyers, engineers and administrative staff to Iraq.
