Friday, August 03, 2007
Iraq to offer three new mobile phone licences
Telecommunications
(Arabian Business) - Iraq is this month to offer three new mobile phone licences, according to Dow Jones Newswires. An auction will be held on August 16-17 with the winners announced on August 18, according to the report, which cited officials with one of the current operators. Iraq currently has approximately nine million mobile users in total, representing a mobile penetration rate of approximately 33%. MTC Atheer is the largest player with approximately 3.6 million subscribers to its mobile services at present.MTC in April said it was in talks with the Iraqi government to get a long-term mobile licence. It competes on the cellular market in Iraq with Orascom-owned Iraqna and Wataniya's Asiacell.
Labels: Asiacell, Iraqna, mobile phone licences, MTC Atheer, Orascom, Wataniya
Monday, April 30, 2007
Iraq to license three mobile phone carriers at $250 mn. each
Business
(TeleGeography) - Iraq plans to license the three national mobile phone carriers, MTC Atheer, Orascom and Asia-Cell in June under an arrangement calling for revenue-sharing and an upfront cash payment of at least USD250 million each, according to government and industry sources. The decision comes after Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, reacting to complaints over licensing uncertainty from the three cellcos, created a committee to address the matter.
The panel included the Iraqi ministers of communications, finance, technology and national security, the head of the National Communications and Media Commission (NCMC), Siyamend Zaid Othman and wireless executives, and met three weeks ago. The outcome was an agreement in principle that the three national mobile operators would each receive a 15-year licence, with automatic renewals every five years thereafter. In exchange, Orascom, Asia-Cell and Atheer agreed to make a cash payment of at least USD250 million and share 18% of annual gross revenues with the Iraqi government. In addition, the ownership of the three operators must be significantly Iraqi.
Orascom, Asia-Cell and Atheer have been in limbo since late 2005 when their two-year regional national permits issued by the now-defunct Coalition Provisional Authority expired. After that, the NCMC extended licences for six months and then every three months. The cellcos have invested hundreds of millions of dollars in mobile phone deployment, but have had to hold back on contracts and expansion because of the licensing uncertainties.
As well as the three national operators, there are two cellcos which provide services in the north-eastern Kurdish region, Sana Tel and Korek Telecom. As previously reported on CommsUpdate, moves are afoot to close down Kuwaiti-owned Asia Cell. It is not known whether the new licensing plans will have any bearing on this.
Labels: Asia-Cell, Korek Telecom, mobile phone carriers, MTC Atheer, National Communications and Media Commission, NCMC, Orascom, Sana Tel, Siyamend Zaid Othman
