CMC sets US$307 million reserve price for each of three 3G licences in Iraq

Iraq’s government is seeking to sell its 3G licences to the incumbent mobile networks for at least US$307 million each.

The country’s three national mobile networks are currently limited to GSM services, and while customer growth was initially considerable in a country that lacked reliable telecommunications, the lack of 3G services has been a drag in the past couple of years.

Last week the Council of Ministers agreed in principle to auction 3G licenses, Ahmed Alomary, a former commissioner at the Communications and Media Commission (CMC), told Reuters.

The reserve price has been set at US$307 million, although that is currently just indicative and could change. The mobile networks, which paid US$1.25 billion each for their licences in 2007, have long argued that they should not have to pay extra for 3G approvals.

The auction will also be open to new entrants to the market after plans to automatically award the licences to the three incumbent operators were rejected.

There could also be a regulatory hurdle as Zain and Korek have not listed their shares on the stock market, as required by their GSM licences. The government may need to find a way around that to let them bid in the 3G license tender.