Iraq Telecommunications Research, Downloadable Iraq Telecoms Reports & Iraq Telecom Industry Overviews

 Iraq - Telecoms, Mobile, Broadband and Forecasts

Executive summary The main story of telecommunications in Iraq continues to be mobile. Before the Iraq war of 2003 mobile telecoms did not exist in most of Iraq outside the Kurdish areas. In the six years since the launch of services in 2004, subscriber numbers have exploded to reach penetration levels higher than in neighbouring Syria or in Lebanon, at over 60%. Four operators share the market but Zain of Kuwait's subsidiary Zain Iraq has much the largest market share, with well over 50% of the market. Asiacell, which has Qtel of Qatar as a major shareholder, has just over a third of the market. Two small operators based in the Kurdish part of Iraq have the remainder, one of which, Korek, has a national licence but has yet to extend its reach much beyond the region. Part of the reason for the booming mobile sector is the lack of any significant fixed-line market, with infrastructure almost non-existent outside of Baghdad. Fixed-line penetration levels are less than 5%. There is also a great lack of fibre-optic backbone infrastructure, both nationally and for international connections. Several Wireless Local Loop licences have been awarded and operators have launched services using CDMA networks but they have not as yet made much impact. Inevitably these factors have led to very low levels of Internet subscribers. There are no reliable statistics for the numbers of Internet users. Most users access the Internet at Internet cafes with satellite connections. With better backbone infrastructure mobile Internet services could probably be successful but as yet 3G/HSPA services are not available. Uncertainties exist in the regulatory situation with several disputes existing between the Ministry of Communications and the mobile operators. The Ministry has claimed it is owed large sums by the operators and has also fined them substantial amounts for non-fulfilment of service conditions in their contracts. The operators in turn have complained about the lack of consultation on a draft new Communications Law and also that they are being unfairly blamed for the high cost of fixed to mobile calls. Despite inevitable problems, the telecoms sector is one of the big success stories of post-war Iraq. With a more settled security situation and better regulation and a liberalised market, the much-needed investment and development will surely follow.

 Table of Contents 1. Executive summary 2. Key statistics 2.1 Country overview 3. Telecommunications market 3.1 Overview of Iraq's telecom market 4. Regulatory environment 4.1 Background 4.2 Regulatory authority 4.3 Telecom sector liberalisation in Iraq 4.3.1 Wireless Local Loop licences 5. Fixed network operators in Iraq 5.1 Iraqi Telephone and Postal Company (ITPC) 5.2 Wireless Local Loop operators 5.2.1 Itisaluna Abr Al Iraq 5.2.2 Kalimat Telecom 5.2.3 Hi Link Telecom 5.2.4 Omnnea 6. Telecommunications infrastructure 6.1 National telephone network 6.1.1 Wireless Local Loop (WLL) 6.1.2 Northern Iraq 6.2 International infrastructure 6.2.1 Submarine cable networks 6.2.2 Satellite networks 7. Broadband access market 7.1 Overview 7.1.1 Internet statistics 7.2 Broadband and Internet subscriber forecasts 7.3 Wireless broadband 7.3.1 Internet via satellite 8. Digital economy/digital media 8.1 Overview 9. Mobile communications 9.1 Overview of Iraq's mobile market 9.1.1 Mobile statistics 9.1.2 Average revenue per user (ARPU) 9.2 Mobile subscriber forecasts 9.2.1 Scenario 1 - higher growth 9.2.2 Scenario 2 - lower growth 9.3 Regulatory issues 9.3.1 Temporary mobile licences awarded in 2003 9.3.2 Permanent licences awarded in 2007 9.3.3 Penalty fines and debts 9.3.4 Fourth mobile licence 9.4 Mobile technologies 9.5 Major mobile operators 9.5.1 Asiacell Communications 9.5.2 Zain Iraq (formerly MTC Atheer) 9.5.3 Korek Telecom 9.5.4 Orascom Telecom Iraq Corporation/Iraqna 9.5.5 Sanatel 9.6 Mobile voice services 9.6.1 Prepaid 9.6.2 Satellite mobile 9.7 Mobile Messaaging 9.8 Mobile content and applications 9.8.1 Mobile TV 10. Related reports 11. Related reports
Table 1 - Country statistics Iraq - 2010
Table 2 - Telephone network statistics - 2009
Table 3 - Internet user statistics - 2009
Table 4 - Mobile statistics - 2009
Table 5 - National telecommunications authorities
Table 6 - GDP growth and inflation - 2005 - 2011
Table 7 - Fixed lines in service and teledensity - 1990 - 2011
Table 8 - Internet user and subscriber estimates - 2001 - 2011
Table 9 - Mobile subscribers and penetration rate - 2003 - 2011
Table 10 - Mobile operators, subscribers and annual change - 2009
Table 11 - Mobile operator market shares - 2004 - 2009
Table 12 - Major mobile operators ARPU - 2004 - 2010
Table 13 - Forecast mobile penetration in Iraq - higher growth scenario - 2014; 2019
Table 14 - Forecast mobile penetration in Iraq - lower growth scenario - 2014; 2019
Table 15 - Asiacell Revenue and subscribers - 2006 - 2010
Table 16 - Zain Iraq: Revenue, net income and subscribers - 2006 - 2009
Table 17 - Zain Iraq prepaid subscribers - 2006 - 2009

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