Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Motorola to get piece of WorldCom’s Iraq contract

From: [email-masked]
Date: Fri, 13 Jun 2003 15:13:53 -0400

Motorola to get piece of WorldCom’s Iraq contract
By JEFFREY SILVA 
June 13 11:40:00, 2003

WASHINGTON—Motorola Inc. is getting a slice of the $34 million contract held by
WorldCom Inc. to provide mobile phone service to U.S. civilian and military
officials in Baghdad, even as pressure builds to have the Bush administration
dismiss the embattled long-distance giant as a government contractor because of
the firm’s accounting miscues. 

Natasha Haubold, a WorldCom spokeswoman, confirmed Motorola was selected as a
subcontractor. While Haubold did
not provide details, it is expected Motorola will join Sweden’s L. M. Ericsson and
possibly other vendors in providing phones for a GSM cell phone network capable of
supporting 10,000 subscribers. 

Ericsson is believed to have been chosen to install wireless infrastructure for
the Baghdad mobile-phone system. Motorola recently was awarded a $15.8 million
contract to build a police radio system in Baghdad. 

The WorldCom-Motorola deal comes amid indications the Coalition Provisional
Authority, the U.S.-led group temporarily in charge of Iraq, will solicit bids
next week for a short-term license to build a nationwide mobile phone network
covering the country. 

Earlier this week, the GSM Association reported that Kuwait-based wireless
operator MTC-Vodafone deployed a
GSM-based network in southern Iraq designed to support the reconstruction efforts
and non-governmental
organizations delivering humanitarian aid. 

The network reportedly is currently providing coverage along supply routes in the
southern Iraqi city of Basra, which is under the control of the British military. 

MTC-Vodafone, which was founded in 1983 and is the largest mobile operator in
Kuwait serving nearly 700,000
subscribers, said it was granted authority May 26 by the Joint Communications
Authority Board of Iraq and the Ministry of Defense of the United Kingdom to
install and operate a GSM network. The carrier noted it has delivered a number of
handsets and subscriber identity module cards to the British military in Basra. 

U.S.-based MCI was authorized last month to install a GSM network around the Iraqi
capital of Baghdad. 

MTC-Vodafone won a GSM license in Bahrain in April. Kuwait’s MTC partnered with
Vodafone Group plc under the U.K. operator’s Partner Network Agreement program,
which involves dual branding and international roaming cooperation, last year. 

http://rcrnews.com/cgi-bin/news.pl?newsId=13885

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