Subject: [NEXTEL-1] U.S. seeks bids for 3 regional Iraqi mobile networks

From: [email-masked]
Date: Thu, 17 Jul 2003 16:38:07 -0400

U.S. seeks bids for 3 regional Iraqi mobile networks
By Jeffrey Silva
July 17 13:45:00, 2003

WASHINGTON—The U.S.-led occupational force in Iraq today said it will seek bids
for three regional mobile-phone licenses in a war-ravaged nation whose continued
instability could undercut telecom reconstruction and economic development
generally. The Coalition Provisional Authority, led by Paul Bremer, said it will
issue a request for proposals the week of July 28. Proposals will be due two weeks
later.

The CPA will require each applicant to bid on at least two of the three regional
licenses covering northern, central and southern regions that encompass primary
population centers with a total of 17,000 people. The RFP will outline conditions
to enable regional licensees to eventually provide full national coverage.
Hundreds of millions of dollars in contracts are up for grabs. The CPA press
release made no mention of a technology preference, though the CPA said license
conditions and interconnection and technical requirements will be spelled out in
the RFP.

Advocates of U.S.-originated CDMA technology and European-originated GSM
technology have been sparring on the sidelines in recent months over the Iraq
wireless issue.One aspect of the mobile-phone tender is bound to get close
attention and could even influence business interest in the wireless solicitation:
The license term is limited to two years. That adds a level of uncertainty that
could weigh heavy on prospective investors.

“This [the license term] is considerably shorter than is normal for a mobile
telecommunications license but reflects the special circumstances in Iraq,” stated
the CPA. “It is believed that this period will provide operators with sufficient
opportunity to recover their investment while enabling a future with Iraqi
Authority to take responsibility for key decisions in relation to the long-term
development of the sector.”  Left unclear is the status of licenses once the CPA
hands off the government to the Iraqi people. The CPA said parties interested in
applying for Iraqi mobile-phone permits should contact authorities at
[email-masked].

http://rcrnews.com/cgi-bin/news.pl?newsId=14351

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