Teletimes April 2011.pdf

Bahrain
TRA
denies
with
drawing 2
Connect
license
There is no move to
withdraw the license
of Bahrain telecom
company 2Connect,
it has emerged. The
Telecommunication
Regulatory (TRA) said it
had ‘no knowledge’ of this.
‘We are not aware of such
a move,’ said TRA deputy
director general Rob
Middlehurst.
‘I have no knowledge
of this,’ The TRA denial
followed rumours
circulating since the
company (2Connect) was
set to lose its license.
‘This has led to immense
problems for us,’ said
company managing
director Fahad Shirawi.
‘We are getting calls from
all over the world from
clients, customers and
others to get to know
what’s going on.’This is
completely baseless. There
is no reason whatsoever
for our license to be
cancelled. We have met
every requirement under
the law and have done
nothing inappropriate.
‘This rumour is hurting us
and needs to be denied.
Iraq hopes to auction
4th mobile license for $2bn
Iraq hopes to auction
a fourth mobile phone
operator license for around
$2 billion by the end of
the year and will spend
$500 million on upgrading
battered infrastructure, the
communications minister has
said.
Mohammed Allawi said Iraq
aimed to boost fixed-line phone
penetration and internet reach
to 25 per cent within five years.
‘What we have decided about
the fourth license is to divide it
into three main shares,’ Allawi
said in his interview.
‘Of the shares 40 per cent will
go to the operator, 35 per cent
to the public, and 25 per cent to
the ministry.’
Iraq needs billions of dollars
of foreign investment as it
struggles to rebuild dilapidated
infrastructure after decades of
war and economic sanctions.
The mobile phone market,
which did not exist in Iraq
under Saddam Hussein, has
boomed since the 2003 US-led
invasion that toppled him,
although its fixed-line network
remains badly damaged.
Iraq held an auction in 2007
in which Kuwait’s Zain,
AsiaCell and Korek, which
is based in the northern
Kurdish region, bought 15-year
licenses for $1.25 billion each.
Allawi said he expected the
fourth mobile phone license
to go for $2 billion at an
auction. The license would be
approved and issued by Iraq’s
Communications and Media
Commission.
Mohammed Allawi
. The minister said while
network jamming by security
forces was partly to blame
for patchy mobile coverage,
the operators’ infrastructure
had been unable to cope with
growing demand.
Allawi said completing
an extensive fibre optic
infrastructure network to
connect Iraq to the rest of the
world would be one of his main
aims for this year.
Zain Iraq expands into Kurdistan
Operator’s move
is part of a strategy to cover all of Iraq
Zain Iraq, part of Zain Group,
has launched its services in
the Kurdistan. This expansion
is the first phase of Zain Iraq’s
plan to cover all areas in the
northern provinces of Iraq.
Emad Makiya, CEO of Zain
Iraq, said that the coverage
of Kurdistan will not only
be welcomed by the local
population, but it will also play
a key role in spurring business
and accelerate the pace of
construction and reconstruction
in the country.
In the second phase, the
operator plans to extend its
services to remote villages and
roads in northern Iraq, leading
to complete coverage of the
country.
Zain Iraq offers
a flat rate of
1.25 Iraqi dinars
per second to
all networks
within Iraq, and
also provides
‘Business Plus’
service targeted at
enterprises.
Zain Iraq has become the
third operator to launch
services in Iraq’s Kurdish-run
northern region after operators
AsiaCell and Korek.
Makiya saying that the Zain
Group is to continue to invest
in Iraq and expects revenue
for 2011 to increase by at least
Emad Makiya, CEO of Zain
15-20%. He was also quoted
saying that the key focus
apart from the Kurdish region
expansion, will be to commence
3G services in the country. Zain
Iraq had a subscriber base of
12 million customers at the end
of 2010. T
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