AMMAN (Dow Jones)--Iraq is to offer three new licenses this month to operate national cellular telephone networks for up to 15 years, Iraqi officials and current mobile operators said Wednesday.
A fourth license is likely to go to the Iraqi ministry of communications, they said.
"An auction to grant these licenses is expected to be held in Amman on August 16-17 and results would be announced August 18," a senior official working with one of the current mobile operators told Dow Jones Newswires.
The Iraqi government announced a tender to grant these new licenses last month, the official said.
The current operators have been pressing for the licenses to be issued as soon as possible. The current temporary licenses, which have been extended several times, are set to expire on August 31.
Some 10 firms are rumored to have pre-qualified for the new license tender.
A senior official with the Iraqi Ministry of Communications said Japanese and U.S. firms, as well as current operators, are among the competitors to get the new licenses.
In war-torn Iraq, telecommunications is the main area for foreign investment. It is also the only sector of the economy other than oil where business is producing serious revenues. Iraq currently has little fixed-line infrastructure, but there are 9 million mobile phone subscribers in the population of 27 million.
Although security is a huge challenge, attacks on telecoms infrastructure aren't as prevalent as sabotage of oil facilities and other investments. Telecoms officials have in the past said even insurgents need to be able to communicate with one another and as a result aren't blowing up the vital links.
In 2003, the Ministry of Communications issued three licenses for regional cell phone operators to Egypt's Orascom Telecom Holdings, Kuwait's Mobile Telecommunications's MTC-Atheer and AsiaCell, part of Kuwait's Watanyia. These licenses were granted for two years with a total value of $5 million.
MTC Atheer, whose current Iraqi subscribers reach 3.6 million, the largest of the three operators, was allocated for southern Iraq. Orascom's Iraq unit, Iraqna, was allocated central Iraq and AsiaCell was given the north of the country. But the three are currently working outside their allocated regions.
-By Hassan Hafidh, Dow Jones Newswires; + 962 777 612 111; hafidh8@hotmail.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires "
Posted to the site on 1st August 2007
Posted to: www.cellular-news.com/story/25197.php