The latest Iraqi communications news, including developments and opportunities in communications and media from Iraq Business News.
By Lisa Knight, Creative Director & Founder of The Brand Foundation. Multinational brands have been and continue to land in Iraq, attractive to Iraqi nationals perhaps due to the trade embargos of the past, and Saddam's dislike of Iraqi's owning western brands. It is hardly surprising that brands that were formerly unavailable domestically are now […]
Iraq Business News recently had the pleasure of interviewing the Kurdistan Regional Government's High Representative to the United Kingdom, Ms Bayan Sami Abdul Rahman. Iraq Business News: Ms Abdul Rahman, thank you for taking the time to speak with us today. May I ask you firstly for your opinion about the ongoing protests in the […]
The Iraqi unit of Kuwait telecoms firm Zain is planning to spend $100m this year as part of its plan to expand throughout the entire Kurdish region over the next five months, its chief executive said yesterday. Emad Makiya, CEO of Zain Iraq, the country’s biggest mobile phone operator, said the firm planned to extend […]
UAE telecom Etisalat has not ruled out expansion into Iraq after dropping its $12bn bid for a chunk of Kuwait’s Zain that would have given it access to the market, a senior executive said, according to a report from Arabian Business. “We are looking at all opportunities,” said Ahmed Bin Ali, group senior vice president […]
Iraq's communications minister said he expected the country's planned fourth mobile phone licence to fetch between $1 billion to $2 billion [2.4 trillion Iraqi dinars] in an auction expected by the end of this year. According to Reuters, Mohammed Allawi said the expected cost for the licence, including installations and infrastructure costs, could be in […]
France Telecom-Orange and its partner Agility, a leading logistics company, have announced a binding agreement on Monday with the shareholders of Korek Telecom to acquire a 44% stake in the Iraqi mobile operator. France Telecom-Orange will contribute its marketing, commercial and technical expertise to reinforce Korek Telecom's leading position in the Kurdistan region of Iraq […]
Cordiant Capital, the Montreal based fund manager that specialises in loans to emerging markets, has committed $50 million to fund the expansion of Iraq’s mobile phone network. Mobile penetration in Iraq is estimated at just 77%, lagging far behind most of its neighbouring countries where penetration rates are virtually 100%. The loan is part of […]
In a move to enrich Kufa University's educational and research activities, Kufa University president Dr. Abdul Razzak Al-Issa signed a broadband service agreement with Omnnea. The broadband service will be used to allow both Kufa University faculty and students to conduct research, hold video conferencing and to utilize e-learning curriculum. Dr. Al-Issa stated, "One of […]
Iraqi mobile operator AsiaCell has threatened to sue Kuwait-based telecoms provider Zain, after it allegedly distributed millions of unlicensed SIM cards, hitting AsiaCell's market share. It has also disconnected several million Zain Iraq subscribers whose lines have not been fully licensed by the Communications and Media Commission (CMC). AsiaCell, in which Qatar Telecommunications Co (Qtel) […]
Qatar Telecom (Qtel) has announced significant growth last year in its Iraqi Asiacell operations. Following on from the strong subscriber growth achieved in 2009, Asiacell has continued to increase its subscriber base this year leveraging its country-wide network. Asiacell's total subscriber base at 31 December 2010 stood at 8.1 million (FY 2009: 7.4 million). At […]
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, is supporting economic growth and expanded access to telecommunications services in Iraq through a landmark $400 million, seven-year debt facility for Zain Iraq, the country’s largest mobile phone operator. Zain Iraq is a subsidiary of Kuwait-based telecommunications operator Zain Group, a longtime IFC partner. Zain is the […]
The United Nations has prepared a comprehensive Briefing Book on Iraq, and presented it to Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. The book is comprised of two parts: The first part addresses key policy issues, including: macroeconomic challenges, development planning and prioritization, governance and public sector reform, anti-corruption, private sector development, social protection and the challenges of […]
