IRAQ | Telecommunication Sector

[IraqiPlan_et]

Ministry of Communications: the completion of the optical cable project next March
January 16 2012


Union: the Ministry of Communications announced that the project of the optical cable has reached a very advanced stage, expected to be completed in March.

Said Communications Minister Mohammed Tawfiq Allawi's (news).

"The company of the project of the optical cable has reached a very advanced stage in it, stressing that the ministry has set March is the deadline for the completion of this project," pointing to the existence of Takhiria fines against the company after this date.

Allawi complained of the difficulty of implementing the project in areas containing mines, but he also said the project other well despite all the difficulties.

He said, "The Aashm project optical cable in the promotion and development of Internet services in the country by increasing the capacities and the degree of clarity, where the agreement with Turkey to link with and access to Istanbul and then Europe, connecting the first line with Jordan, and the second line, which is linking Iraq network Filak World, as well as a link with the Gulf Bmnzawmtin at the moment and there is an agreement with them after it was clear mines from the area, due to sign a contract with them in 2007. "

[IraqiPlan_et]

Undersea link boosts Iraq internet
Jan 18 2012


The connection of the first undersea internet cable serving Iraq promises faster and more reliable broadband in the war-torn nation, says the company behind the project.

Gulf Bridge International (GBI), which recently completed a US$445 million (Dh1.63 billion) undersea cable connecting India with Italy via the Gulf and Egypt, said its cable was successfully linked to Iraq this week.

"This is the first-ever subsea cable to connect Iraq to the world," said Ahmed Mekky, the chief executive of GBI.

High-speed internet access is extremely limited in Iraq. According to GBI, broadband penetration there stands at less than 3 per cent.

According to the International Telecommunication Union, only 2.5 per cent of Iraq's population were classed as "internet users" in 2010.

Iraq's current internet connectivity is made possible via satellite and land connections to neighbouring countries, Mr Mekky said.

He said the GBI undersea cable should be active soon and would help to improve access to the internet in Iraq.

"This will likely mean significantly increased broadband access, faster connection speeds, and a more reliable network," he said.

Mr Mekky added that the undersea cable was being tested.

"Generally, these kinds of tests don't take longer than a few weeks. We will be ready for the commercial service soon," he said.

GBI has entered into deals with local telecommunications operators and related authorities in the countries served by its undersea cable.

In Iraq, it has a deal with the government-owned Iraqi Telecommunications and Post Company (ITPC).

"The Iraqi Telecommunications and Post Company has signed a major capacity purchase agreement with GBI," said Mr Mekky. "The local telecoms [companies] in Iraq can have access to capacity and connectivity on the GBI cable via the ITPC landing station."

[Sinjar]

Reuters-Published: 00:00 March 15, 2012


Dubai Iraq's Korek Telecom hopes to launch a third-generation (3G) network this year, but is waiting for the government to release the necessary spectrum, the operator's chief executive said Wednesday.
Korek, in which France Telecom and Kuwait's Agility own stakes, claims a 70 per cent market share in the country's Kurdish region in the north.
Yet its overall share of Iraqi mobile subscribers is just 13 per cent and launching 3G, which would allow for faster internet connections on mobile phones, could help it win customers from 2G operators Asiacell, an affiliate of Qatar Telecom, and Zain Iraq, part of Kuwait's Zain.

"The promise of the regulator and the ministry is we should have 3G soon, so we are waiting for them to figure it out," Ghada Gebara, Korek chief executive, said by telephone.
Gebara said she hoped Korek would launch 3G services this year.
"We already have the right to use any technology we want in our licence, the idea is to get the right frequency," she said.

The government has yet to decide whether it will charge a fee for the new spectrum, Gebara said, adding extra fees would raise tariffs and slow down investment in new technologies to increase internet penetration.

The three Iraqi national operators were required to launch initial public offerings (IPO) to sell 25 per cent of their shares by August 2011 as part of their $1.25 billion (Dh4.5 billion) licences issued in 2007.

All have yet to do so, with the local bourse seemingly ill-equipped to support listings that would likely double its market capitalisation. More than six months since the deadline passed, Gebara said she did not know if Korek would IPO this year. She said Korek had no coordination with Zain Iraq and Asiacell on when they would each launch an IPO.

[SumerianKing]

This is great! Is it for all of iraq?

[sheytanElKebir]

saw the installation of the fibre optic cable (it ran tight by the entrance to our campsite in the desert. THe cable I saw was coming from Basra towards Nassiriya (and presumably going north from there.

this was last week.


here's the pic I took

[Sinjar]

That's really good to know Shaytan.

[Basrawii]

Shaytan I can't see the pics.

[Sinjar]

SIGIR report- Jan 2012 p.99

[sheytanElKebir]

PARIS — Iraq, cut off from decades of technological progress because of dictatorship, sanctions and wars, recently took a big step out of isolation and into the digital world when its telecommunications system was linked to a vast new undersea cable system serving the Gulf countries.

GBI
Gulf Bridge International's ring-shaped cable system connects all of the gulf countries.
The engineers who designed and installed the cable that made shore in Al-Faw, near Basra, had to deal with an unusual number of challenges. There were more than 100 oil and natural gas pipelines to cross; stretches of shallow water where the cable had to be buried; and unexploded ordnance from the Iraq war that had to be avoided.

“It was not easy,” said Ahmed Mekky, chief executive of Gulf Bridge International, the company that built the system. “But this could be a significant foundation stone for the country’s recovery.”

The new cable will speed Internet and telephone traffic to India in the East and Sicily in the West. From there, traffic moves onto other networks to connect to the rest of the world.

Much of the world takes lightning-fast broadband service for granted, but any kind of Internet access remains a rarity in Iraq, where fewer than 3 percent of households are online. The new capacity could help bring Internet connections to 50 percent within two years, said Mohammed Tawfiq Allawi, the Iraqi communications minister.

“You have to have a culture of using it, you have to have the infrastructure in place and you have to have access to low-cost devices,” he said.

Mr. Allawi and Mr. Mekky see more than just domestic benefits for Iraq. They want the connection to the undersea network to serve as the first step in a plan to turn Iraq into a conduit for telecommunications traffic between East and West, which would provide the country with lucrative revenue from use of the network.

“This is going to make Iraq an important hub for connecting Asia to Europe,” Mr. Mekky said. “It’s very strategic for the country.”

Like traders plying the ancient Silk Road, telecommunications operators routing bits and bytes from Asia to Europe and back have to pass through the Middle East, whose tricky geography and even more challenging geopolitics have sometimes made the region just as much of a bottleneck in the digital realm as in the physical world. When things go wrong, the consequences can be serious and far-reaching.

In January 2008, for example, several underwater cables off the Mediterranean coast of Egypt were inexplicably severed. Only days later, a separate cable was cut in the Gulf, near Dubai; this time, a ship’s anchor was blamed. Telecommunications activity throughout the Middle East was severely disrupted, and there were ripple effects for carriers across the world. A similar, though less serious, incident occurred in February of this year in the Red Sea.

Meanwhile, traffic is surging, both internationally and within the region, fueled by the spread of mobile phones and a belated but enthusiastic adoption of the Internet.

Demand for international bandwidth has grown at a compound annual rate of nearly 100 percent across the region over the past five years, according to TeleGeography, a research firm. That is the fastest growth of any region in the world, and roughly double the rate of increase in North America.

Until recently, options for passing through the Middle East were limited, and links within the region were often spotty. Most East-West traffic had to go via Egypt and the Red Sea; the vulnerability of that route was exposed by the 2008 incident. Telecommunications operators in the Gulf also want more competition, in order to bring down tolls.

Since 2008, governments and telecommunications companies across the region have been investing heavily in alternatives, laying cables underwater and across land at a previously unseen pace. Projects like Gulf Bridge, whose shareholders include the Qatar Foundation and sovereign wealth funds of several other Gulf states, are the result.

The Gulf Bridge network, a $500 million project in its initial phase, became active in February, providing high-speed connections to Bahrain, Iran, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, as well as Iraq.

Gulf Bridge is not the only new arrival. In March, Tata Communications of India activated a $200 million cable that serves many of the Gulf countries, though not Iraq. The cable sends traffic to Mumbai, where it hooks into Tata’s worldwide network. Unlike Gulf Bridge, Tata’s cable travels over land to Oman, avoiding the Strait of Hormuz, a choke point in times of regional conflict.

With so much new bandwidth coming into service, some analysts have raised concerns about overcapacity, though network operators say it is only a matter of time before the new networks are humming with activity.

“Every time more cable systems are built, use catches up more quickly than forecast,” Radwan Mousalli, head of Tata Communications’ Middle East and North Africa operations.

Given the varied risks in the region, from errant anchors to political tensions like the saber-rattling over the Iranian nuclear program, it is important to have a diverse range of options for routing traffic, executives say.

Another cable-building project, scheduled to be completed this year, would pass through Iran, linking the Gulf to Europe via that country and Russia. But analysts say economic sanctions against Iran could make it hard to attract European customers.

Two other overland lines linking the Gulf to Europe — one recently activated, the other still under development — pass through Syria, where protests over the regime of President Bashar al-Assad continue.

Because of the crisis in Syria and the tensions over Iran, the possibility of routing traffic via Iraq has suddenly become more attractive to telecommunications operators.

“If you want to go from Saudi Arabia to Europe, you either have to go through Iran, Iraq or Syria,” said Alan Mauldin, an analyst at TeleGeography. “Which is the most stable of those countries now? Iraq has emerged as the least bad of all the options.”

Mr. Allawi said his government had reached agreements in principle with partners in neighboring countries to develop a cable system connecting the Gulf to Europe via Turkey, though he said details could not be announced yet.

Mr. Allawi is thinking big. He said Iraq could use the infrastructure improvements to turn itself into a regional Internet hub, playing host to Web sites serving neighboring countries — where, he said, communications freedoms are more restricted.

Telecommunications operators say Iraq provides additional advantages, beyond stability. It offers the shortest overland connection from the Gulf to Europe, so delays in transmission could be reduced, said John Maguire, head of wholesale services at Vodafone Qatar, a mobile operator whose shareholders include the Qatar Foundation, controlled by the royal family of the Gulf emirate.

“Iraq has a very strong strategic position to become a transit point for traffic between Europe and Asia,” he said.

[Basrawii]

بغداد ـ الصباح
ذكرت هيئة الإعلام والاتصالات ان الحكومة خصصت 6 ملايين دولار لاستكمال الإجراءات الخاصة بمشروع إنشاء قمر صناعي عراقي.وقال نائب رئيس مجلس الأمناء في الهيئة الدكتور علي ناصر الخويلدي: ان الهيئة تدارست مع الأمانة العامة لمجلس الوزراء ومجلس الوزراء والمختصين بشأن المشروع، مما حدا بالحكومة الى تخصيص (6) ملايين دولار لاستكمال الإجراءات الخاصة بانشاء القمر الصناعي. وأضاف في تصريح نقلته وكالة (الاخبارية) ان هناك تعاونا بين الهيئة ووزارة الاتصالات من جهة والاتحاد الدولي للاتصالات من جهة أخرى، بشأن مشروع إنشاء القمر الصناعي، على اعتبار ان هناك أوقاتاَ خاصة بشراء تلك الأقمار لكي لا يكون هناك أي اعتراض من قبل دول الجوار.وتم في وقت سابق عقد اجتماع بمقر وزارة الاتصالات برعاية وزير الاتصالات محمد توفيق علاوي، وحضور الجهات المعنية، لمناقشة تنفيذ قرار مجلس الوزراء المرقم (493) لسنة (2011) بشأن مشروع إنشاء قمر صناعي عراقي. حيث نوقشت خلال الاجتماع جملة من القضايا المتعلقة بحقوق العراق في الاتصالات الفضائية، وتحديد وحجز المدارات الساتلية، واطلاق الأقمار الصناعية، والإجراءات الواجب اتخاذها وفقا لتعليمات الاتحاد الدولي للاتصالات الـ(ITU) كما تم إلقاء عرض توضيحي من قبل الخبير المهندس الدكتور مهند جواد المختص في مجال الأقمار الصناعية.وأكد الحضور في نهاية الاجتماع ضرورة تركيز الجهود وبلورة الأفكار لامتلاك العراق الساتل الفضائي بأسرع وقت ممكن.

Iraq to have its own satellite soon.

[sheytanElKebir]

finally. so the security forces stop paying the rip-off charges from foreign sat operators. should have been done years ago!

[Basrawii]

More news on the topic:

بغداد/ متابعة المدى الاقتصادي
عقدت وزارة الاتصالات اجتماعا مشتركا مع هيئة الاعلام والاتصالات لمناقشة جملة من القضايا المتعلقة بحقوق العراق في الاتصالات الفضائية، وتحديد وحجز المدارات الساتلية، وإطلاق الأقمار الصناعية، والإجراءات الواجب اتخاذها وفقا لتعليمات الاتحاد الدولي للاتصالات الـ(ITU) .

وذكر موقع وزارة الاتصالات ان الاجتماع تضمن عرضا توضيحيا من قبل الخبير المهندس الدكتور مهند جواد المتخصص في مجال الأقمار الصناعية.
وأكد الحضور في نهاية الاجتماع على ضرورة تركيز الجهود وبلورة الأفكار، لامتلاك العراق الساتل الفضائي بأسرع وقت ممكن .
وسبق ان نوهت وكالة الصحافة المستقلة الشهر الماضي الى اهمية امتلاك العراق قمرا صناعيا خاصا به من خلال دعوة بعض المتخصصين والعاملين في مجال البث والاتصالات الفضائية الى تبني فكرة انشاء قمر صناعي بالعراق يمكن ان يساهم به العديد من القطاعات وابرزها الحكومية كوزارات الدفاع والداخلية والاتصالات والصناعة والبيئة وشركات القطاع الخاص والفضائيات.
ونقلت عن أشرف الدهان من مجموعة مدار الرافدين الاستشارية المتخصصة في مجال تكنولوجيا المعلوماتr,gi إن الجانب الاقتصادي وما يتحقق من موارد مالية ليس الجانب الأهم في المشروع في حال نظرنا إليه من زاوية أكثر اتساعا. بل إن مستوى تقدم أي بلد أصبح يقاس بتطور منظومة الاتصالات فيه وكيفية استثمار هذه المنظومة على النحو الصحيح وفي جميع الميادين.
واوضح الدهان ان كلفة شراء القمر الصناعي تتراوح ما بين 300 إلى 500 مليون دولار، وهذا المبلغ يمكن تعويضه خلال سنتين أو ثلاث من خلال الاشتراكات الشهرية التي تدفعها الفضائيات للسماح لها بالبث على ترددات معينة.
واضاف كما يمكن تغطية تكاليف الشراء من واردات الهيئة،منوها الى ان لهيئة الاعلام والاتصالات موارد ثابتة شهريا قد تصل الى 40 مليون دولار من نسب المشاركة مع شركات الهاتف النقال حيث نسبة 18% من واردات زين و15% من واردات اسيا سيل وكوريك و32% من واردات شركتي اتصالنا وكلمات ناهيك عن اجور البث الفضائي للقنوات الفضائية العراقية فضلا عن موارد اخرى .
يذكر ان الكثير من المحطات الفضائية العراقية، متوزعة على أقمار (أجنبية) مختلفة، و ينبغي احتضانها ضمن قمر صناعي محلي ينظمها ويختصر عليها الكثير من الجهد والأموال حيث ان عدد الفضائيات المملوكة من قبل العراقيين أو التي تخضع لإدارة عراقية، حسب إحصائيات غير رسمية، تصل إلى حدود (56) فضائية.
فيما تصل كلفة تأجير مساحة البث إلى خمسة ملايين دولار سنوياً، هذا يعني أن حجم الإنفاق العراقي على البث الفضائي يصل إلى حدود (280) مليون دولار في السنة.

[Basrawii]

I hope its true.

[sheytanElKebir]

Iraqi operator's CEO says voice will dominate for next few years, but broadband will be future growth-driver.
Zain Iraq, a unit of Kuwait's Mobile Telecommunications Co., or Zain, is looking ramp up its infrastructure spending this year and beyond, as it looks to cement its position as the country's top mobile operator in terms of subscribers.

"Under-investment hurts growth, however, our investment in 2012 and the coming years will be much higher," Emad Makiya, Zain Iraq's chief executive officer, said in emailed responses to Zawya Dow Jones questions. He didn't elaborate on how much the company will spend this year.

While Iraq is still primarily a voice-driven market, Zain Iraq is gearing up and "getting ready for broadband services" to help drive future growth.

"Iraq is expected to continue being a voice-driven market for the next couple of years. No change will take place unless broadband spectrum is assigned by the regulatory authority, and reliable fiber network infrastructure is realized. Industry demand is expected to grow faster with better availability of commercial electricity in the country," said Makiya.

In November last year, Zain Iraq signed a $650 million network outsourcing deal with Sweden's Ericsson, a move aimed at improving network quality in the war-torn country. Under the agreement, 3,700 sites are to be built across Iraq, including in the northern region of Kurdistan.

As it stands, Iraq currently has three mobile phone operators--Zain Iraq, Asiacell, a unit of Qatar Telecom; and Korek Telecom, in which France Telecom and Kuwait logistics company Agility own around 44%.

Iraq's minister of communications, Mohammed Allawi, said in October last year that the introduction of a fourth mobile operator in Iraq will help consumers and create competition.

A possible fourth mobile license could take the form of a local player only, a local partnership with foreign-telco majority ownership, or through a public-private ownership, say analysts.

Zain Iraq controlled 53% of the Iraqi market at the end of 2011, with a 12.4 million subscribers, according to Zain Group's 2011 annual report.

"We are confident that we can retain our leadership position in the Iraqi market whichever option they (regulator) choose. However, we believe that the need for a fourth license should be supported by proper market study; otherwise, the consequences are disastrous,"

[Basrawii]

Another load of crap by zain

[Sinjar]

What do you mean Basrawi?

[sheytanElKebir]

zain (and all the other operators) make huge margins in Iraq over the past 8 years, and their infrastructure is CRAP. they have not installed modern networks or services at all. just pocket the money and run. Since all 3 GSM operators are crap, there's no competition to improve things.

[Sinjar]

Why doesn't the government allow more companies to enter the market? In Denmark we got like at least 20 companies. It has both pushed the prices down and improved the service..

[SumerianKing]

How do you know its the government not allowing other companies in? Maybe its just a lack of companies coming to Iraq.

[Sinjar]

I'm pretty sure that Asiacell, Korek and Zain are the only companies with license in Iraq.

Correct me if I'm wrong.