AsiaCell, Orascom, MTC win Iraq mobile licences
iraq-today.com
By Mustafa Alrawi and Zaid H Fahmi
BAGHDAD – Asia-Cell, Orascom and a Vodafone-MTC led consortium called Atheer Telecom have won Iraq’s three mobile phone licences.
Haider al-Abadi, the Minister of Communications, announced the names of the three winners of the CPA’s competition, at a press conference in Baghdad on Monday.
Wataniya Telecom and United Gulf Bank will partner Asia-Cell, who has won the Northern regional licence. Asia-Cell’s headquarters are in Sulaimaniya, which is in the Kurdish controlled area of Iraq. Faruk Mustafa Rasool is the company’s CEO.
Orascom, an Egyptian telecoms company that operates networks in Jordan, Egypt and Africa has won the lucrative central region that includes Baghdad’s six million plus population. Alex Shalaby, Orascom’s CEO, is based at its headquarters in Giza, Egypt. Orascom’s partners in Iraq include Alaa El Khawaja and Allied SA ltd. Reports say that a large delegation from Orascom had travelled to Baghdad to be present for the announcement.
The Atheer Telecom consortium, led by Vodafone-MTC, also includes Dijla Telecom and Kharafi National. Ali Shawkat, Atheer’s CEO is based at their headquarters in Baghdad. Kuwait-based Vodafone-MTC has operated a roaming service in the Basra area for the past several months.
The Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) launched the mobile
Licence competition in July, and the contract award, initially expected in September, has been delayed for several weeks. Haider al-Abadi claimed that the delay was justified.
“I am pleased to say that I was one reason for the delay…I could not have given my approval without careful consideration,” he added. But the minister denied that the decision had already been made before his appointment last month and refuted accusations that the delay was nothing but a smokescreen to give the impression of a major Iraqi role in the decision.
However, there is still some confusion over the nature of the process. Media sources claim that work started on the mobile infrastructure weeks ago, and Iraq Today was told by al-Abadi himself a fortnight ago that the three companies had been chosen, but refused to name them.
Thirty-five consortiums, submitting more than one hundred bids, took part in the tender for what is one of the most promising markets for cell phone carriers because of Iraq’s potential and low penetration. Six months after the fall of the regime, Baghdad, Iraq's most populous city still does not have telephone service. Al-Abadi said that he hoped that mobile services would be up and running within “a few weeks”.
Al-Abadi explained that in the coming days he would sit down with at least one of the three winners to discuss consumer packages and targets for building the regional networks. Capital investment required for each regional network is estimated at around $250 million. But the minister also left the door open for other operators in the future.
“The licences are for two years. And one year from now I will review the circulation of mobile services in Iraq, and there will be a chance for competition all over the country,” al-Abadi added. |
