WorldCom lands cell phone network contract in Iraq

The network will be GSM-based, the standard in the Arab world

By Scarlet Pruitt, IDG News Service

May 19, 2003 12:00 PM ET

IDG News Service - WorldCom Inc., newly branded as MCI, has won a U.S. government contract to build a Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) digital cell phone network in Iraq as part of a postwar rebuilding effort, the GSM Association confirmed today.
The contract authorizes WorldCom to build what will at first be a small network used mostly for humanitarian relief efforts, according to GSM Association spokesman Mark Smith. The London-based association is a representative body for the wireless industry and is working with WorldCom and the U.S. government to provide security to the new Iraqi network.
The fact the network is based on GSM is "absolutely critical," according to Smith, who said that many of Iraq's neighbors and most of the Arab world operate on the standard. "There are 60 million users on the GSM standard across the Arab world, and 38 million among Iraq's neighbors," he said.
The digital cellular telephone standard, which is based on the Time Division Multiple Access protocol, has experienced rapid adoption in recent years and become prevalent across Europe. According to information released by the GSM Association last week, by the end of 2002, there were 780 million GSM subscribers across 190 countries.
The Iraqi network will initially serve 10,000 to 20,000 users and will be in place by mid-June. The network will eventually be turned over to the new Iraqi government, which will then license it to network providers. It's not assured that WorldCom will be able to keep the contract, Smith said.

Reprinted with permission from

IDG.net
Story copyright 2009 International Data Group. All rights reserved.

Recommend Digg Twitter ShareThis

Email Print Send Feedback Reprints

Additional Resources

Xerox

Win a color printer!

By using solid ink technology only from Xerox, you could save up to 65% by printing color for the cost of black and white. Enter for a chance to WIN a PhaserTM 8860 network color printer!

Microsoft

Upgrade to Internet Explorer 8 today.

Save time and mitigate security risk. Deploy it now.

Sybase

NEXT-GENERATION MOBILITY PLATFORMS

In this white paper, IDC analyzes the role of next-generation mobile enterprise platforms as organizations seek a more strategic deployment of mobile solutions.

Learn the important issues you must consider before starting your next mobility initiative. Get your mobility white paper from IDC now, compliments of Sybase.

White Papers & Webcasts

Ponemon Study: The Business Risk of Lost Laptops
Employees can access and store enormous amounts of confidential data on your organization's laptops, leaving your company vulnerable to substantial business risk when...

5 Best Practice Tips for Managing BlackBerry, iPhone, & Windows Mobile Devices
(Source: Zenprise) Mobile devices continue to proliferate across the enterprise, driven largely by the increase in worker productivity, efficiency, and flexibility they provide....

Airport Insecurity: The Case of Lost Laptops
(Source: Dell) Business travelers lose more than 12,000 laptops each week in U.S. airports, yet most admit they don't take steps to protect...

Managing Laptops Outside the Office
(Source: Absolute Software) In this webinar, learn how you can reduce costs by tracking mobile computers no matter where they are located. Featuring...

2007 Gartner Magic Quadrant Report
Riverbed positioned in Leaders Quadrant of Gartner Magic Quadrant for WAN Optimization Controllers. Analyzing strengths vs. cautions, Gartner helps organizations looking to acquire...

What Are 'Free' Remote Support Tools Really Costing You?
(Source: LogMeIn) In this webinar from LogMeIn, discover how "next generation" remote support tools are optimized to provide advanced capabilities like scripting, system...

Forrester Consulting - Optimizing Users and Applications in a Mobile World
Are your workers going increasingly mobile? Don't wait for their calls to slam Support when they experience poor application performance on the road....

IT Strategies for Remotely Supporting a Distributed Workforce
(Source: Citrix Online) Today's workforce is a distributed one - workers across industries are telecommuting, working out of satellite offices and connecting into...

IT Best Practices: To Support or Not Support Consumer Owned Smartphones
Companies have historically standardized on a single smartphone platform. Of late, IT is facing pressure to support the increasing influx of consumer owned...

Usability Is Everything
Learn what sets Workday's HR and Payroll solutions apart from the competition....

All White Papers | All Webcasts