While Barzanji admits this is down to weak regulation, he adds that general poor network quality is also due to a lack of investment from the operators, and that additional competition could help to rectify this.
Patel also offers some defence of the regulator. “It can be stated that this is the result of a relatively young regulator and a nascent market, and regulation is expected to improve year by year,” he says.
Kenneth Kriel, CTO at Technology Partners, also sees some limited improvement in terms of regulation. He says that the current Minister of Communication has assisted in “facilitating a lot of the regulatory aspects” which appears to be improving the situation.
“We are seeing the role of the MoC greatly improving and balancing out the regulatory framework especially in the vacuum of a good leader at the CMC,” he says.
Mobile broadband
As one of the MEA region’s last country’s to have 3G services, it is understandable that Iraq’s operators often feel frustrated.
The issue of the delayed 3G spectrum allocation has long been a thorn in the side of the operators, and there remains significant confusion about when the problem will be resolved. But it now looks increasingly likely that 2012 will be the year that Iraq gets a taste of mobile broadband.
Makiya says that he is optimistic that 2012 will see “the birth of broadband services” in Iraq. Patel also expects to see 3G services become a reality in 2012. “The monopoly GSM possesses on the market is expected to be broken in 2012 with 3G licences hot on topic,” he says. “Zain has negotiated with the regulator as to how and when it proposes to auction the 3G licences, which will inevitably fuel mobile broadband consumption in the country.”
In terms of general sentiment, Iraq’s telecoms sector is also giving plenty of room for optimism. Indeed, as the security situation continues to improve in Iraq, so business and investment confidence is also rising.
Barzanji points to an “increased level of investment across the board” from the Ministry of Communications and its companies including Iraq Telecommunication and Post Company (ITPC) and the State Company for Internet Services, as well as from the private operators.
Barzanji adds that there is also an increase in cooperation between the government and private sector, with an increase in private public partnerships between government and the private operators.
He adds that there is also significant growth in demand for telecoms equipment and services from oil and gas companies. “They are committed to spend billions over the next 10 years and that is driving demand for ICT, whether it is IT or telecommunications,” he says. There is also growth in general industry in Iraq, he adds.
