Source:
ABCNewsIraq's Cell Phone Industry Thrives Despite War
Fierce Bidding for Iraq's Cell Phone Licenses Ends in Billion-Dollar Deal
By TROY MCMULLEN
BAGHDAD, Aug. 17, 2007 —
An Iraqi speaks on his phone inside a mobile phone shop in Baghdad, 20 March 2006. Three years after the US-led invasion to Iraq, mobile phone use has mushroomed. Mobile phones were banned during the regime of ousted leader Saddam Hussein. (Sabah Arar/AFP/Getty)
A major milestone toward the reconstruction of Iraq's infrastructure was reached today when the Iraqi government sold three cellular telephone licensesestimated to be worth just $5 million in 2003 for $3.75 billion. The three winning bids were from Mobile Telecommunications of Kuwait; Asiacell, which is part of Kuwait's Wataniya Telecom; and Iraq-based Korek Telecom. They won the rights to provide mobile service in a country that continues to rely heavily on wireless phones after war and sanctions disrupted land-line service.
The three firms, which already run networks in the war-torn country, made the highest bids in two days of auctions that ended today in Amman, Jordan, according to the Finance Ministry.
The new 15-year licenses handed out today replace three short-term contracts awarded soon after the American-led invasion. The firms will share 18 percent of their revenues with the Iraqi government and pay a 15 percent tax on profits, the Finance Ministry says.
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And yet they don't have potable water, security, jobs, schools, sewage systems, electricity..
but hey.. "Can you hear me now?"