RFE/RL IRAQ REPORT
Vol. 4, No. 19, 1 June 2001

A report prepared by Joseph Braude of the Pyramid Research Advisory Service notes that
the demands of globalization are exacerbating differences between the Baghdad-controlled
central portions of the country and the Kurdish controlled north.

After the Gulf War, the fixed-line telephonic network was almost completely destroyed.
Braude writes that "the rehabilitation of Iraq's fixed-line network requires investments
exceeding $1 billion over an implementation period of 7-10 years," according to the UN
Office of the Iraq Program on 4 May. As of 25 April 154 bids for telecommunications sector
contracts in Iraq worth $279 million were submitted to the UN's 661 Committee, which
oversees the Iraqi government's commercial transactions. Some 83 contracts totaling $71
million were approved and 71 worth $208 million were either rejected or placed on hold.

In Kurdistan, a mobile phone service using digital trunking to connect to the public switched
telephone network (PSTN) will be unveiled in June by Kurdish entrepreneurs. The PSTN is
being rebuilt with fiber-optic cable, and Internet connectivity through Turkey allows for low
cost international calls via voice-over IP.

Braude notes that "the advent of digital trunking and new fiber-optic cable infrastructure in
Iraqi Kurdistan reflects new alliances between entrepreneurs that transcend tribal politics."
After linking the Sulaymaniyah network to Irbil's, a UN-supported local telecoms venture
called the Asia Company will bring several mountainous rural areas into a system of mobile
telephony. Salahuddin University in Irbil is one of several institutions in the region offering
high-speed Internet access to students and employees. In Baghdad-controlled Iraq, extreme
poverty and intensive control over information are hindering developments similar to that of
Kurdistan.

The political ramifications of the mobile telephone project have attracted attention. In an
interview published in Sulaymaniyah's "Al-Ittihad" on 11 May, Faruq Mala Mustafa,
executive director of the Asia Company, said that "the mobile phone project in Irbil
Governorate will be launched next month so that both governorates (Sulaymaniyah and
Irbil) will be connected by mobile phones. Thereby, we will precede politics in uniting the
people of the two administrations by covering the entire region and ensuring its contact with
the outside world through this important network. We are pleased that we have succeeded in
extending constructive and fruitful cooperation bridges between the two administrations and
taking big steps towards uniting them. We have the full support of the leaders of the two
parties, led by Jalal Talabani (PUK) and Mas'ud Barzani (KDP)." (David Nissman)
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The Kurdistan Observer
www.kurdistanobserver.com