Cabinet gives conditional approval for mobile licence renewal

The Iraqi cabinet has decided to renew the licences of the nation’s mobile providers for a further five years, on the condition that the cellcos clear half of their outstanding debts and commit to launching 4G services by early 2021. The plan was published on the government’s website as part of a summary of the decisions made at yesterday’s cabinet meeting but no further details were forthcoming. Regulatory authorities the Communications and Media Commission (CMC) and the Ministry of Communications (MoC) have yet to issue statements on the matter. As noted by TeleGeography’s GlobalComms Database, the 2G and 3G mobile spectrum licences held by Iraq’s trio of mobile providers – Zain Iraq, Asiacell and Korek Telecom – are all due to expire in 2022.