WASHINGTON-Siyamend Zaid Othman is helping lay the foundation for a new Iraq where information flows freer than it did under the oppressive regime of Saddam Hussein and where ordinary people can chat on cell phones like billions of others do around the world everyday.
It is happening in Iraq, despite deadly sectarian and insurgent fighting that threatens to explode into full-fledged civil war. That makes what Othman and wireless companies have achieved so far all the more impressive. There are several million mobile-phone subscribers today in Iraq. Relatively few mobile phones were in service three years ago, and those handsets that did have signals were mostly operated by Hussein’s henchman.
“I think the general constraints on the working environment in Iraq also apply to us,” said Othman, chief executive officer of the nine-member Iraqi National Communications and Media Commission, in an interview with RCR Wireless News earlier this year.
Othman was appointed to the post in April 2004 by Paul Bremer, former head of the now-defunct U.S.-led Coalition Provisional Authority. Before the appointment to the NCMC, Othman was a communications and media consultant. Prior to that, Othman worked at Amnesty International, and he was an executive at United Press International.
The NCMC regulates telecom and broadcast companies in Iraq. You could call it Iraq’s version of the Federal Communications Commission. Sounds straight forward enough.
Not necessarily.
“Probably one of the most difficult things has been explaining to people who we are and what we do. Because an independent regulator is a totally foreign concept in Iraq, we have never had such a thing,” Othman observed. “People just simply don’t understand you are a commission, you are going to hold authority, yet you are not the government … In some cases this has led to some confusion about what we do. And in some cases people who don’t like us make misrepresentations.”
So, yes, Othman, an Iraqi Kurd who earned a doctorate degree in social sciences in Paris, readily acknowledges working conditions in Iraq are not ideal. But there are other, practical issues he confronts as well.
“A lot of people talk about how difficult it is to work in Iraq. I’ll tell you what I have found most difficult in Iraq: finding a good secretary,” Othman said.
Othman’s lament goes beyond just secretaries. Indeed, management skill generally is lacking in Iraq.
“If you searched all of Iraq, we don’t have telecom lawyers,” he said. The same goes for telecom engineers and economists. “This is a serious problem for us and our work. We have a paucity of qualified people. This has for me, as a professional working in Iraq, been my principal problem so far.” Thus, the emphasis on training Iraqis in professional fields so essential to a war-battered nation trying to make sense of new laws and regulations.
In March, Iraq launched the first mobile-phone license tender under the new government. The competition is expected to lead to four national wireless carriers.
“After decades of oppression under the Saddam, Iraqis are keen to express themselves via all forms of telecommunication. Mobile phones, literally, put the power of communication in their hands,” said Othman.
Auction licensing will be used to award four, 15-year mobile-phone licenses by June. Under the old Coalition Provisional Authority, mobile-phone licenses were awarded in 2003 to Orascom Telecom Iraq Corp., Asia-Cell Telecommunications Ltd. and Atheer Telecom Iraq Ltd. All three use GSM technology, which is predominant in the region.
Moving to the next stage of mobile-phone licensing-this time under an elected Iraqi government-has not been without the kind of lobbying pressures confronted by FCC members in the United States.
At least one incumbent mobile- phone carrier has wanted the Iraqi government to scrap licensing plans and extend the terms of current mobile phone licenses.
Othman balked, despite ongoing violence. In fact, Othman asserted commercial self interest-not security-is driving the push to lengthen mobile-phone license terms of existing mobile phone operators in Iraq.
“The incumbents are making a mountain out of a molehill when they talk about security,” said Othman. “It is in their interest to say so, because they do not want others to come. That’s why they’ve been going around saying `security, security.’ Ask any of these mobile operators, `Have you not recouped all your investments and made huge profits in just under two years?’ Now this is phenomenal. I don’t think this has happened elsewhere.”
Othman, who met with telecom officials and others in his week-long January visit to Washington, D.C., was reacting in part to newspaper comments of Naguib Sawiris, chief executive officer of Iraqna’s Egyptian parent company, Orascom Telecom Holding S.A.E.
Sawiris was quoted in The Financial Times earlier this year as saying, “Security is never going to be restored in six months.” Sawiris, according to the story, said mobile-phone licenses should be extended three to five years. Othman called the news report a “planted article.”
The six months referenced by Sawiris is the license extension granted by the NCMC to Iraqna, AsisaCell and MTC Atheer in late December, not long after historic parliamentary elections were held. The three GSM operators have signed up between 4 million to 4.5 million subscribers to date. Industry subscriber counts are more conservative.
While agreeing security remains a big problem in Iraq, Othman said the situation does not justify further extension of cellular license terms.
“The current incumbents are making a story of the security in order to discourage others, so they have the market for themselves,” said Othman. Iraqna and the other two Iraqi carriers could not be reached for comment, but Sawiris has indicated in a company press release that Iraqna has visions of doing business in Iraq well into the future.
“Although Iraqna was guaranteed only a six-month extension, Orascom Telecom intends to pursue its aggressive growth strategy of being the leader in the market, and looks forward to participating in the long-term license issuance process,” said Sawiris. “We believe Iraq harbors large potential for growth and remains a very attractive market for Orascom Telecom.”
Orascom said Iraqna revenues jumped to $249 million during the first nine months of 2005, with an earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization margin of 66.3 percent. Iraqna counted more than 1.5 million subscribers as of October, according to Orascom.
The NCMC will also award three national wireless local loop licenses. One license already was set aside for the state-owned Iraq Telecommunications and Postal Commission. The granting of WLL licenses presents a major business opportunity in Iraq for U.S.-born CDMA technology.