WASHINGTON-The Department of Defense last week refused to say whether its inspector general is investigating a high-level official who allegedly attempted to convert a project to build a nationwide first-responder network in Iraq into a non-compete contract to provide commercial CDMA mobile-phone service throughout the country.
John Shaw, deputy Defense undersecretary for international technology security, reportedly pressured officials of the U.S.-led Coalition Provisional Authority in Iraq to steer the first-responder contract to a CDMA consortium headed by NANA Pacific-an Alaska native firm-in a way that would not require competing bids.
The Los Angeles Times, quoting Shaw and others, reported that Shaw-contacted by lawmakers on Iraq wireless options at various times-met with officials of Qualcomm Inc. and Lucent Technologies Inc. to pitch the plan.
“The IG is unable to discuss this matter at this time,” said Rose-Ann Lynch, a defense spokeswoman.
Shaw declined a request to be interviewed.
“We are not involved in any of that and we have no specific knowledge of an investigation,” said Denise Panyik-Dale, a Lucent spokeswoman.
Qualcomm declined comment.
Liberty Mobile, a CDMA group led by Irish wireless entrepreneur Declan Ganley, unsuccessfully applied for three regional/nationwide Iraqi mobile-phone licenses awarded last year, losing to three GSM partnerships. Some of the principals in Liberty Mobile are also part of the group-which reportedly includes several politically well-connected individuals-implicated in Shaw’s alleged plot to steer business to CDMA backers.
European GSM technology is prevalent in the Middle East. Egypt’s Orascom Telecom was picked to operate a cell-phone system in central Iraq. Asia-Cell, a Kurdish Iraqi company, won the rights to serve northern Iraq, while Atheer, a firm associated with Mobile Telecommunications Co. of Kuwait, snagged the license for the southern region of Iraq.
In response to complaints about the Iraqi license selection process, the Pentagon’s IG last year conducted a preliminary probe. The IG ended the review earlier this year without issuing any findings, deciding instead to refer the matter outside DoD. The Pentagon’s Lynch said she does know what happened to the investigation after it left DoD.
The U.S.-led Coalition Provisional Authority, headed by Ambassador L. Paul Bremer, led the review of 35 applications.
Whether the Pentagon is investigating Shaw on the first-responder network contract or reopening the original investigation of the awards of the three Iraqi mobile-phone licenses, or both, is open to dispute.
One industry source whose firm has ties to at least one of the three Iraqi licensees said it is unlikely that DoD is refocusing attention on the process leading to the award of the Iraq mobile-phone permits, noting construction of new wireless systems is well under way. Instead, the source said there are indications the Pentagon wants to unravel CPA’s handling of the first-responder network initiative in Iraq. CPA did not respond to questions e-mailed by RCR Wireless News.
Asked to respond to The Los Angeles Times story, Ganley said, “It’s appallingly inaccurate.”
Ganley said the Nana Pacific-CDMA group received the first-responder network contract about a month and a half ago, taking advantage of an SBA program that gives preferential treatment in the form of sole-source federal contracts to some Alaska native-owned firms.
A source with direct knowledge of the DoD probe said Pentagon investigators do not appear to be focused on the CDMA group’s dealings with Shaw on the first-responder network, but rather on whether British and U.S. telecom advisors to the CPA improperly rigged the mobile-phone licensing competition to favor GSM consortiums.
Two advisers on Iraqi wireless issues recently resigned.
RCR Wireless News Washington Reporter Heather Forsgren Weaver contributed to this report.
