Zain expands Iraqi Network into Kurdistan (Iraq)
Zain’s Iraq subsidiary has announced that it is expanding its network to the governorates of the Kurdistan region in the north of the country. This expansion is the first phase of the company’s plan to cover all areas in the Northern provinces.
The second phase will see coverage extend to remote villages and roads in the north leading to complete coverage of the country. Furthermore, Zain will now include Kurdish alongside Arabic and English as its local languages.
According to Zain Iraq CEO, Emad Makiya, the coverage of Kurdistan will not only be welcomed by the local population, it will play key role in spurring business and accelerate the pace of construction and reconstruction. Only the oil industry has invested more in the region and this surely must demonstrate our commitment to playing a key role in the rehabilitation of this great nation. The company stated that that recently increased security and stability has meant that the company can now expand and improve its network.
In Kurdistan, Zain has established points of sale and has trained local employees to meet the high standards expected from its staff. It has also prepared a broad CSR program to support civil society institutions in the region and is looking forward to being a model corporate citizen in the community.
Korek Telecom in final talks over stake sale
Kurdish mobile operator Korek Telecom is reportedly in discussions with two companies to sell a minority stake and is expecting to strike a deal by the end of the week.
As per the previous reports, France Telecom had entered into talks to buy a stake in the operator, as part of a strategy to expand its presence in the Middle East.
According to Korek’s Chief Executive Humam Amara, a deal between the two companies has not yet been brokered, it is still in discussion. The company has not signed anything with Orange. He also stated that Korek was in talks with ‘another foreign, publicly listed company’, but could not reveal the name of the firm, due to the signing of a non-disclosure agreement.
According to Amara, discussions with the two operators are in the final stages, adding that Korek will look to make a decision within the next few days. Korek initially focused on the provision of mobile services in Kurdistan, but in August 2007 it was awarded a national license and has developed into Iraq’s third-largest cellco by customers, with an estimated 2.55 million subscribers at 30 September 2010. Korek is looking to sell a 35%-49% stake in the operator, which is valued at about US$3 billion.
7Netlayers’s WiMAX services launched in Kurdistan
www.WirelessFederation.com/news: A mobile wireless broadband network has been launched by Iraqi telecoms operator 7Netlayers Telecom in Kurdistan. Huawei Technology’s complete WiMAX solution will be utilized in this USD10 million project to offer wireless broadband services to students, SMEs and large corporations at download speeds of up to 18Mbps.
Established in 2008 by a group of Iraqi/Kurdish and Lebanese investors, 7Netlayers aimed to deliver advanced technology and interconnectivity solutions to the corporate industry and to address the growing needs of consumers in the region.
In 2007, the company received the license and in January 2010, it launched its commercial service using the WiMAX 208.16e standard.
MTC Atheer passes three million mark
MTC Atheer, one of the three nationwide cellcos operators in Iraq, has announced that it has signed up over three million subscribers since first launching commercial operations in March 2004. In a statement Ali Dahwi, the firm’s chief executive, said that USD430 million had been invested in the Iraqi market in that time, and further money would be injected in the future to expand MTC’s infrastructure in the north. According to TeleGeography’s GlobalComms database the three nationwide operators, MTC Atheer, Asia-Cell and Iraqna (Orascom Telecom Iraq), had a 30% market share each, with the remainder split between Kurdistan operators Sana Tel and Korek Telecom.
Source- telegeography Wireless Mobile Telecom
