Telecommunications Development in Iraq

2 Asiacell Historical Facts 6 October Asiacell awarded northern Iraq GSM license 22 December License signed, Asiacell turns on commercial service in Kirkuk on the same day 20 January Mosul goes into commercial service, 3 cities now covered by Asiacell, 2 nd Int’l earth station commissioned 2 May First IP based Call Center launched in Sulaymaniya

3 Iraq is Progressing 2003: What you see is what you get Difficult security situation stifling economy Authorities not able to cater to Free Market Economics Banking system in flux Experienced resources very hard to find Service industry well behind Today: You get more than you see Employment is improving economic conditions Independent regulatory body formed Banks supporting business Experienced Iraqis coming back home Customer centric service

4 Asiacell Update Customers - 180,000+ enjoying the service Employees - 679, 95% of whom are Iraqi Network - 75 Sites on Air, 81 more in build 3 MSCs, 3 IN platforms, one in each city 500,000 customer capacity of equipment already in Iraq Interconnect - Completed with fixed network and central operator Roaming - 76 agreements signed, testing completed with Etisalat, Turkcell, Syriatel. Roaming live in June.

5 Sulimaniya Switch Kirkuk Switch Irbil Switch Dahuk Switch Mosul Switch Tikrit BSC SDH Highway With 1E1 drop and insert for radio base stations 1E1 Link from Sulimaniya to Mosul Signalling link to UAE for International Roaming 2 x 64KBit signalling link 4E1 International Gateway 1E1 Link from Mosul to Sulimaniya 16E1 International Gateway 8E1 International Gateway 2 x 64KBit signalling link Distributed Network Design

6 Developing Iraq’s Telecom Infrastructure Internet Wireless backbone Push to talk Financial Services Coordination in the Regulatory Environment

7 Internet In 2005 Mobile penetration will exceed fixed line Internet utilizing the mobile Network (GPRS/EDGE) will increase internet reach An opportunity to shortcut Internet development in Iraq Lower entry barriers encourages new consumers A big door for eBusiness and eCommerce development

8 Wireless backbone Investment to connect the GSM Network Elements in the different cities can be utilized to transfer data Customers – Banks, Service Companies, Gov’t offices High Speed links will be available intra and inter cities Via SDH & PDH which are in deployment Accelerated Economy progress will depend highly on the availability of such links Connectivity will help improve the security situation

9 Push to Talk Security, Enterprises and SME’s have a great need for Push to Talk services The tremendous re-building and logistical support being expended to re-build Iraq would be facilitated with Push to Talk Push to Talk can easily be rolled out as an overlay on a GSM network

10 Financial Services Lack of credit history organizations will limit the penetration of credit cards for the foreseeable future A mobile operator can easily act as micro/mini payment broker utilizing the prepaid infrastructure Ease of payment fuels the economy Businesses and the banking system get connected creating an opportunity for banks to act as clearing agents

11 Regulatory Environment Iraq is poised to be at the forefront of an advanced regulatory environment Regulator recently appointed Encouragement to introduce new products & services Speed, time & flexibility are key, but things are moving

12 Thank You