WorldCom awarded Iraqi reconstruction contract

Reports are circulating that bankrupt US telco WorldCom has been awarded a USD50 million contract to build an interim wireless network in Baghdad with a capacity of 10,000 subscribers. WorldCom, which is the largest supplier of telecoms services to the US government, was awarded a similar contract to build a wireless network in Afghanistan. The move to award the company the Iraqi contract has angered a number of activist groups in the US who claim that the federal government should not do business with WorldCom in the wake of its USD11 billion accounting scandal.