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Iraqis swarm to cellphone shops

Iraq's airwaves will soon be buzzing with chatter as Iraqis rush to snap up mobile handsets ahead of the full launch later this month of the country's first commercial cellphone networks.

"Judging from the demand so far, we think the market will simply explode," said Mushtaq al-Maliki, an agent for Egyptian-owned Orascom Telecom, which will operate the Baghdad-based Iraqna mobile phone network.

"People can hardly believe they will soon have mobile phones," added Maliki, who transformed his business from satellite communications to cellphone sales in anticipation of soar-away sales.

For several weeks Maliki has been patiently answering queries from scores of Iraqis who have poured into his premises, eager to find out how what has become familiar technology across most of the world will change their lives.

Mobile phones were virtually non-existent in Iraq under former president Saddam Hussein due to international sanctions imposed in 1991 at the end of the Gulf War and the repressive regime's fear of unfettered mass communications.

A limited service operated in parts of the Kurdish-controlled north, but most Iraqis had to rely on the landline system, which was badly damaged during last year's US-led invasion, hampering the country's economic rebirth.

Insurgents have continued to target telephone exchanges and other utilities in their ongoing sabotage campaign against the coalition.

Since the end of the war coalition authorities have established their own private network for troops and officials. For most people wanting to make calls abroad, satellite communications are currently the only option -- but beyond the budget of most Iraqis.

Three companies have now been awarded mobile telephone licences, including Orascom, which will provide a global system for mobile, or GSM, network in Baghdad, Asia Cell which will cover the north and Atheer Telecom in the south.

"With a mobile phone, I will be less worried about my family," said teacher Amal Mohammed, who said she would be able to keep in touch with her 18-year-old daughter currently studying at Baghdad University.

"At the moment, I am worried all the time, because of the insecurity in Iraq," she told reporters while browsing at a newly-opened mobile phone shop in the capital.

Unrelenting violence has blighted the country since the collapse of Saddam's regime as insurgents mount almost daily attacks on coalition forces.

"It is a gift from God," she added.

The three operators are planning to roll out their services to 400,000 subscribers in the next two months and say the market can expand further in the country of 25 million, unthreatened by competition from cheaper landlines.

"We are extremely pleased to finally reach the mobile phone era and I hope that every Iraqi will have one because the ability to communicate is human right," said Iraqna agent Mohammad Sahib.
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