Iraq GSM: Substantial subscriber growth for Asiacell

By the end of this month, the Asiacell network will have more than doubled its subscriber base since the formal award of its license by the Iraqi Ministry of Telecommunications in December 2003.

"Our teams are working flat out to manage the demand for services," said Asiacell board member Ahmad Haleem, "We're fulfilling new subscriptions, expanding the geographical coverage of the network and building new facilities and services around the clock. "

Asiacell's network is able to support 400,000 subscribers and it is being expanded rapidly to increase its regional coverage in the Northern Region, with service rollouts planned to the cities of Irbil, Dahuk and Tikrit by mid-year. The network currently provides GSM services in Sulaymania, Mosul and Kirkuk. First established in 1999, Asiacell is unique in that it already has modern network facilities and a full business infrastructure in place, employing over 400 Iraqi staff.

"We had the initial foresight and now we have the commitment as well as an experienced team of Iraqis who are used to the unique challenges of the environment," said Haleem. "We could not have managed this scale of demand as well as we have without this stable base."

Asiacell is Iraq's most established GSM operator and is uniquely experienced in deploying and operating a fully provisioned, mature and world class GSM network in Iraq today. The company is consistently exceeding its license obligations and is investing in the fast expansion of its established network to meet the high demand for telecommunications services in Iraq today.

"We're up and running with an ongoing network deployment plan and a strong and growing subscriber base, so we believe we're in great shape for national expansion," said Haleem.

Speaking on the sidelines of the Iraq Telecom Conference in Beirut, Haleem also announced the launch of a White Paper, 'Building GSM Network Operations in Iraq', produced by Asiacell to give an overview of the current state of telecommunications in the country, as well as the challenges and opportunities of GSM communications in the country. "As Iraq's established operator, Asiacell has unique experience of working in the environment and we believe we are uniquely positioned to continue to lead the market. Asiacell was the first mobile operator in Iraq and today we are the fastest expanding mobile operator in Iraq," said Haleem.

The Iraq Telecom forum is being held at the UN House in Beirut on the 9th-10th march 2004 and features speakers from UN ESCWA as well as the Iraqi Ministry of Telecommunications, Ministry of Electricity and Ministry of Oil as well as expert speakers from the public and private sectors.