(Associated Press via NewsEdge) Iraq will be offering new tenders for licenses to operate mobile phones in the country after the existing licenses expire, and the country's leading provider said it will submit a bid.
Three companies currently operate in Iraq: Iraqna, AsiaCell, and Atheer.
Ali al-Dabbagh, spokesman for Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, said a committee has been formed to review the bids.
It was not clear, however, when the tender was to be offered.
An announcement is expected to be made at a conference in London.
Iraqi officials have not specified how much the new contracts will be worth, or given details on the exact timing of the tender announcement.
Iraqna, a subsidiary of the Egyptian firm Orascom Telecommunications, a major regional communications company, mainly operates in central Iraq and has 2.5 million active subscribers.
Its contract expires September 30, and the company confirmed it is interested in bidding for the tender.
Atheer, the Iraqi unit of Kuwait's Mobile Telecommunications operates in southern Iraq and AsiaCell operates in the country's north.
Officials at both companies could not be reached to provide details of when their contracts expire.
Iraqna was first awarded the license to operate in Iraq in October 2003 after the fall of Saddam Hussein, and its commercial launch in December of that year marked the first time mobile phones were used in Baghdad.
Atheer began operating on a limited basis the southern city of Basra shortly after the 2003 US-led invasion.
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