Iraq’s telecom market joins the regional pioneers as it awaits full effective liberalization in 2007.

February 13, 2007

The Iraqi communications market enters a whole new competitive era in 2007, with the expected launch of multiple wireless fixed service providers. The country also has competition between three national cellular operators and two regional ones.

On September 6, 2006, the Iraqi Communications & Media Commission (CMC) announced the successful conclusion of its fixed licenses tender. Hitherto, the state-owned Iraqi Telecommunications and Posts Company (ITPC) was the sole provider of telephone and postal services in Iraq. The CMC awarded licenses for the provision of local telecommunications services through the deployment of wireless local loop (WLL) technologies. The new operators are expected to launch their services during 2007.

On the cellular front, there are currently three national operators and two provincial operators (in the Kurdistan region). The CMC tender for long-term licenses, to provide mobile telecommunications services in Iraq, has experienced delays. The delays came mainly as a result of the deteriorating political and security situation in the country, which precluded the government from tendering the permanent cellular licenses in the country.

A new report, “Iraq Communications Projections Report” was released to the Arab Advisors Group’s Telecoms Strategic Research Service subscribers on February 13, 2007. This report can be purchased from the Arab Advisors Group for only US$ 950. The 58-page report, which has 58 detailed exhibits, provides a detailed analysis of the Iraqi fixed and cellular markets and profiles the major players in the country. The report includes 5-year historical and 5-year projections on fixed uptake and cellular uptake, revenues and CAPEX. The report provides, moreover, a detailed and comprehensive picture on the fixed and cellular markets’ strategies and regulations. Please contact the Arab Advisors Group to get a copy of the reports Table of Contents.

Any investment in this report will count towards an annual Strategic Research Service subscription should the service be acquired within three months from purchasing the report.

The investment can also count towards attending Arab Advisors’ fourth annual Media and Telecoms Convergence Conference on June 4 & 5 2007 at the Four Seasons in Amman. More information on the conference can be seen at http://www.arabadvisors.com/Convergence/schedule.htm
Please contact the Arab Advisors Group for full information on the conference, agenda and sponsorship opportunities.

“By January 2006, the number of fixed lines amounted to around 1.2 million lines, with a penetration rate of 4.4%” Mr. Ahmad Al-Assad, Arab Advisors Senior Research Analyst wrote in the report. “The bulk of fixed lines subscribers are based in Iraq’s Capital: Baghdad, which has close to 40% of the total lines in the country”. In regards to the cellular market, Mr. Al-Assad noted that “The total number of subscribers in Iraq stands at around 8.7 million subscribers, by Q3 2006, when adding around 1.2 million subscribers from the two regional mobile operators: Korek Telecom and SanaTel. Consequently, on September 30, 2006, the cellular penetration rate in Iraq stood at around 31.4%.”

The Arab Advisors Group’s team of analysts in the region has already produced more than 720 reports on the Arab World’s communications and media markets. The reports can be purchased individually or received through an annual subscription to Arab Advisors Group’s (www.arabadvisors.com) Strategic Research Services (Media and Telecom). To date, Arab Advisors Group has served more than 405 global and regional companies by providing reliable research analysis and forecasts of Arab communications markets to these clients.