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With over 30 speakers, 21 sponsors and 300 senior telecoms industry experts the CWC Iraq Telecoms 2011 conference took place between the 25-27 October 2011 and was an outstanding success.

Held at the Ritz Carlton Istanbul the conference brought together the Iraqi Ministry of Communications, Iraqi Parliament, Kurdistan Ministry of Communications, Iraqi Media and Communications Commission and major industry players to discuss partnerships, tenders and the next steps in the Iraqi telecommunications industry.

The Minister of Communications for Iraq stated “the huge importance of CWCs Iraq Telecoms conference for the Iraqi telecommunications sector in bringing together all the major players in the industry” also thanking the CWC Group during his remarks stating “every year CWC delivers an even better and very high quality conference.”

H.E. Mohammad Tawfik Allawi the Minister of Communications of Iraq opened the conference and stated “Iraq is aiming to encourage an increased role for the private sector which will see the communications sector develop even more rapidly in the near future. Combined with the increase in oil revenues and diversification of the economy…Iraq looks to become one of the major economies of the region and of the world within the next decade”

Senior representatives from the Iraqi Parliament including Dr. Vian Said, H.E. Mohammed Ridha Al Khfaji, H.E. Ihsan Al Awadi and H.E. Ameer Mousa stressed the importance of the parliament’s role in supporting the consumer and helping both the government and private sectors to achieve their goals to develop and build Iraq’s telecommunications sector. Major players represented by Asiacell, Zain, and Korek also discussed the importance of supporting Iraq in its plans to diversify it’s economy by improving and developing infrastructure.

Further more H.E. Mohammad Tawfik Allawi addressed Iraq’s infrastructure development plans stating “Iraq will lay 20,000km of fibre optic cable by next year with the aim to connect 8 million lines with fibre to the home in the next five year. With 18 companies are installing 100,000 fibre lines to homes, our target for 2012 is to have almost 1.8 million lines which will increase the rate of internet penetration dramatically”

The Minister of Communications also highlighted major policies to encourage the growth of the private sector and addressed plans to privatize the Ministry of Communications stating “we have proposed in the new draft Communications Law a committee composed of the Ministry of Communications, Communications and Media Commission and the Iraqi National Investment Commission to study moves towards privatisation”

Iraq Telecoms 2011 closed with a concluding ministerial panel session discussing the future of the Iraqi telecommunications industry, providing delegates with a summary of the two day event and the opportunity to discuss key issues and new policies.

Iraq Telecoms 2011 industry sponsors include: Asiacell, CDN, Zain, Nokia Siemens Networks, Huawei, O3b Networks, Korek, Arabsat, DragonWave, Ericsson, Silkroad Group, Zhone, Eutelsat, PCCW Global, Technology Partners, Kalimat, Alcatel Lucent, Yahsat, SES and Talia

Reuters reports that Iraq has approved six more energy companies to participate in its 4th energy auction, raising the number of pre-qualified bidders to 46.

"We have six companies that were not qualified first, but after reviewing their information, we asked them to submit further documents to support their position. We have decided to qualify them after they offered the required documents," Abdul-Mahdy al-Ameedi, director of the oil ministry's contracts and licensing directorate, told the agency.

Ameedi said the six new companies were: Dubai-based oil explorer Dragon Oil Plc , Glencore International Plc , Gulfsands Petroleum Plc , China's Zhenhua Oil, Vitol Holding BV and Romania's Romgaz.

The other 40 companies are listed here.

The Oil Ministry has excluded U.S oil company Hess Corp because the company signed deals with Iraq's northern Kurdish region.

The auction for 12 new exploration blocs, scheduled for late January, is expected to add 29 trillion cubic feet of gas and 10 billion barrels of oil to Iraqi reserves. Iraq will meet with executives from the energy companies at a roadshow on 11th September in Amman, Jordan and present a data package with initial tender protocols to the companies on 12th Sept.

(Source: Reuters)

The Iraqi Communications Ministry have announced they will be launching the fourth round of license granting for mobile phone companies this week, licenses will be granted and agreements will be confirmed by the cabinet.

Communications Minister H.E. Mohammed Tawfik Allawi stated “the ministry will only grant licenses to companies that will actually offer better services for customers and improve the technological infrastructure”

Taking place between the 25 – 27 October 2011 at The Ritz Carlton, Istanbul, Turkey Iraq Telecoms 2011 promises to be the gateway to major opportunities for telecommunications in Iraq. H.E. Mohammed Tawfik Allawi stated in his letter of support and endorsement for the conference “the role of Telecommunications as a major driver for the Iraqi economy”.

This year’s agenda will highlight new infrastructure projects for international investors, the role of new technologies in Iraq combined with the plans to increase oil and gas production and the role of telecommunications in building a digital system for oil fields.

Iraq Telecoms 2011 presents a great opportunity for the industry to join major companies operating within the Iraqi telecommunications industry, sponsors to date include: Asiacell, CDN, Zain , Scopesky, Nokia Siemens Networks, Huawei, O3b Networks, Korek, Arabsat, DragonWave , Ericsson, Silkroad Group, Zhone, Eutelsat, PCCW Global, Technology Partners, Kalimat, Alcatel Lucent, Yahsat and SES

For further information visit: http://www.iraqtelecoms.com/

With 12 million subscribers in Iraq, Kuwait’s Zain is the market leader in the Iraq Telecoms industry, currently considering several tender offers to manage its telecoms network in Iraq. Zain is likely to award the contract in the next few weeks; the winner will be able to improve the network quality, while Zain will focus its efforts on marketing, sales and improving customer service.

Gold sponsors for Iraq Telecoms 2011 taking place between the 25-27 October 2011, Istanbul, Zain will host the welcome reception taking place on the 25 October, providing delegates with the opportunity to meet with key figures within the organization.

Zain has refused to name bidders for the managed service agreement, but have commented there are at least three, international players such as Nokia Siemens Network, Huawei Technologies and Ericsson to be likely candidates.

Iraq Telecoms 2011 presents a great opportunity to debate the latest industry updates with all the main players in this fast growing sector in Iraq. The event engages this year as every year, key government officials, service companies and operators within the Iraq Telecoms market.

Key industry support has already been confirmed for the Iraq Telecoms conference; sponsors to date include: Asiacell, CDN, Zain, Scopesky, Nokia Siemens Networks, Huawei, O3b, Korek, Arabsat, DragonWave, Ericsson, Silkroad Group, Zhone, PCCW Global, Kalimat, Eutelsat, Technology Partners and Alcatel-Lucent. Representatives from many of the sponsors will be delivering further insight into their plans for expansion.

For further information visit: http://www.iraqtelecoms.com/