Operator Orascom Telecom Iraq Corporation (OTI) has chosen Motorola as its supplier of GSM base stations and transmission equipment for its network to provide communications services to Baghdad and the central region of Iraq. Motorola will supply GSM infrastructure in a contract worth up to $40 million.
Motorola will be the main supplier for the Central region for the two-year duration of the network license in a full turnkey contract. Motorola will finance a portion of the purchase price.
OTI is 63 percent controlled by Egypt’s Orascom Telecom Holding (OTH). The corporation is the first licensee to provide mobile telephony services in Iraq's central region. Operating under the service name Iraqna, it is one of the three regional network operators that will form Iraq's first national mobile telecommunications network.
Licenses to build and operate the three regional networks were awarded to operators on October 6, 2003. The first coverage from these networks in Iraq's north, central and south regions is expected to begin within weeks, with Motorola starting delivery of equipment to Orascom immediately. More than one million subscribers in the region are expected to receive voice services during the two-year duration of the licenses.
Motorola has a strong relationship with Orascom, supplying 100 percent of the base stations for Orascom's network in Pakistan and almost 60 percent of its joint network with Orange in Egypt.
OTH was established in 1998, and has grown to become the largest and most diversified GSM network operator in the Middle East, Africa, and Pakistan. With more than ten licenses covering the region, OTI’s subscriber base has continued to grow to reach more than six million subscribers. — (menareport.com)
© 2003 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
