The latest Iraqi communications news, including developments and opportunities in communications and media from Iraq Business News.
Zain's Iraq subsidiary is preparing for an initial public offering (IPO) on the Iraq Stock Exchange that will raise an estimated $80 million [96 billion Iraqi dinars] for a 20% stake, the Kuwait Arabic daily al-Qabas reports. As a condition of its operating licence, the company is required to list its shares on the Iraqi […]
Kuwait’s Zain is considering several tender offers to manage its telecoms network in Iraq and will likely award the contract in the next few weeks, a company spokesman has said. According to Reuters, Zain refused to name bidders for the managed service agreement, but said there were at least three, with international players such as […]
By Lisa Knight, Creative Director & Founder of The Brand Foundation. 250 journalists have been reported as being killed in Iraq since 2003 and in 2010 6 lost their lives in Iraq out of a total of 10 in the region. It is claimed that these tragic deaths are yet to be investigated by the […]
According to a report from Iraq's National Media Centre, the provincial government in Diwaniya will close the regional offices of mobile phone operator Zain Telecom on Saturday, in solidarity with the campaign to boycott the company to pressure it to improve its services. The Chairman of the council's Committee on Transport and Communications complained about […]
Telecommunications should be one of the hottest growth industries in Iraq, but according to a report from Reuters, providers have yet to introduce 3G technology into a market where the military jams mobile phone networks to stop insurgents detonating bombs. Poor infrastructure, high operating costs, conflicts between communications regulators and security problems are stunting development […]
Asiacell has stated that its revenues increased 17% year-on-year to US$377.29 million in Q1, according to a report from Wireless Federation. EBITDA rose 14% to US$213.63 million, with EBITDA margin falling 1% to 57%. Revenue and EBITDA growth was driven by increased customer base and increased usage. At the end of Q1, Asiacell had 8.306 […]
Zain Iraq is unifying its subscriber data, currently distributed across the network, into a single database using the Nokia Siemens Networks’ One-NDS platform. One-NDS enables real-time data access across multiple applications. It addresses Zain’s need for a resilient and high capacity subscriber data repository to meet its growth targets by introducing flexibility not found in […]
According to a report from Reuters, Iraqi telecom operator Kalimat plans to invest $250 million in 2011, and to launch an initial public offering (IPO) next year. The company's chief executive, Wilson Varghese, said the planned IPO should help the company to expand as it eyes a nationwide rollout of services by the end of […]
Dr. Abdulmalek Al-Jaber, CEO of Zain Jordan, part of Kuwait's Zain Group, has announced the full hook-up of its network to neighbouring Iraq via an optical fibre cable, Kuna has reported. The Jordanian network has been linked to the Iraqi network using an optical fiber cable that continues to Baghdad, he said. "The hook-up enables […]
Basra Investment Commission has granted an investment licence to the Al- Mawada Company for Media Production and Broadcasting. The project includes the construction of a media complex in Kut Al- Faranki, and it will be completed within 6 months. The total value of the project is estimated at 5.24 billion Iraqi dinars ($4.4 million). The […]
Elie Girard, executive vice-president of strategy and development at France Telecom, said he was bullish about the prospects for Korek Telecom, the mobile operator based in Kurdistan, in which France Telecom recently bought a minority stake. "There is huge growth potential in Iraq," said Girard, adding that Korek would grow some 30 percent a year. […]
Iraq Business News has received information suggesting that AsiaCell is suing Warka Bank for the return of funds amounting to around 29 billion Iraqi dinars [$25 million]. According to one source, this could be enough to do serious damage to Warka. While the full picture is still not entirely clear, we are attaching an official […]
