WASHINGTON-U.S.-led coalition officials are expected within days to issue a tender for a regional mobile network in Iraq and schedule a conference in Amman, Jordan, on July 31 for prospective bidders, according to an administration source.
The Iraq wireless solicitation, subject of much speculation and misinformation in recent weeks, comes amid the establishment of a new governing council in Iraq comprised of various religious and ethnic factions in the war-battered country.
On June 9, Paul Bremer, head of the Coalition Provisional Authority, signed an order establishing rules governing telecommunications services licensing and equipment. It is unclear whether the mobile tender will be managed by Iraq’s new ministry of transportation and communications or the CPA, or both.
While the question of whether U.S. CDMA technology or European GSM technology will be chosen for the regional mobile phone system has sparked controversy in the process of telecom reconstruction in Iraq, it appears the White House wants to steer clear of the dispute and stick to a technology-neutral policy. Such a stance would seem to favor GSM technology, which is heavily deployed in surrounding countries.
In May, the Department of Defense awarded a $34 million contract WorldCom Inc. to build a GSM mobile-phone system capable of supporting 10,000 phones for use by the military and humanitarian assistance volunteers.
The regional mobile-phone system under consideration is a component of a broader policy to restore and bolster economic development in Iraq under new leadership.
