The mobile phone Companies which work in Iraq and obtained the work licenses from the CMC starts to work within a new mechanism since 1.4.2010 in calculating the calls deductions from the balance of the consumer, and that happened by the adoption of the Iraqi dinar instead of the dollar as a cash value, and also calculating the mechanism of the deductions with seconds, and for clarification of the real image for the mass media and citizens and spotting the necessary light on the problems that accompanied with that step, the CMC held on Tuesday, 6/4/2010 at its headquarters a conference attended by a number of reporters from newspapers and satellite channels. For the CMC attend the conference each of Dr. Burhan Shawi the CEO of the Commission, Dr. Safa al-Din Rabe'a the Chairman of the Council and Dr. Ali Nasser Khuwaylidi the Vice-Chairman of the Council, Dr. Sirkawt Namiq and Mr. Ahmed Al-Omari the members of the Council.
At the beginning, D. Shawi, talked addressing the mass media by saying: We used to be most of our meetings with you about the media, but our meeting today will be on communications and their problems, and as you know that the mobile phone companies started from 1- 4-2010 in calculating calls with seconds and calculate the value with the Iraqi dinar. And he added: We've noticed that the mass media have reported this order as that the mobile phone companies initiated in itself to work in that formula and not under the order and pressure from the Commission, as it was supposed to work of that mechanism since 2007 for being an item within the contract with which concluded with the mobile phone companies, and this had not been clear to the citizen and the mass media.
From his side, Dr. Safa al-Din Rabe'a the Chairman of the Council talked about the performance of the mobile phone companies, saying: it was one of our priorities since the first day we received the duties of the management to follow-up an important issue and it's the issue of mobile phone as there have been frequent meetings of high-level of the technical, legal and financial with these companies, our first aim was to improve the service, and in our capacity as CMC one of our duties is to protect the citizen as much as we protect the investor as operator of the mobile phones, these meetings resulted about many things, which we didn't not seeking to reach it to the mass media until we get to appropriate solutions, some of them force companies to transform the handling from the dollar to the Iraqi dinar as national currency although it is one of license articles. And he added: we observed over the few days, that there's no actual application of this Agreement, and there is some irregularities which registered and we will be discussing them with the companies and we hope to reach to the useful solution.
D. Ali Nasser Al-Khuwaylidi Vice-Chairman of the Trustees Council talked, saying: As for the price of the dollar exchange, it should be based on the exchange rate of the Iraqi Central Bank and there's no right of any company to exchange as it want, because it will affect on the deductions at calculating the seconds, and there is some of the companies deals with second but when the call happened with another company then it operates in a deduction manner with minute, and added: We have a free service to receive the complaints under the number 177 and it's a service found to ensure the citizen's right within the Department of Consumer Voice, which work from 9 am to 3 pm, and it will be available soon on 24-hour daily, on the other hand the quality of the service we about to buy sophisticated equipment to examine the quality of the service and we will deal with the companies in documented numbers.
As for Dr. Sirkawt Namiq the member of the Trustees Council of the Commission spoke: "from the first day which the Trustees Council received its duties it determined to find the necessary solutions to improve the mobile phone service, as it's seeking in this field and listened to the companies that have pleaded that the cause of bad service is the existence of confusion by the devices which belonging to the foreign forces, but through the steps preformed by the Commission it became clear according to the scientific tests the invalidity of those arguments, and the reason is that the service is bad, and added: According to the opinion of the Commission, there are other reasons related to the network and how to distribute the towers, as it needs greater and serious attention, and we believe that the impact of the confusion is very limited according to the evidences which available to us.
Mr. Ahmed AlOmari, a member of the Trustees Council of the Commission spoke from his side by saying: We have noticed that there is considerable media noise about the transformation of the balance from the dollar to the Iraqi dinar, while it's the condition of the terms of licensing contracts, and added: We have also noticed that the mass media talked a lot about there is influence and a big damages of the towers, and it caused cancerous diseases, and in our role we've perform a study on this topic through the technical committee which is working in cooperation with the Commission and the Ministry of Health and Ministry of the Environment. And it had been obvious that there were no damages from the towers because it's high, and if we used the international standards which are in force there is no any effect on the human body as the radiations were not ionized.
And about the possibility of giving the fourth license in the mobile phone's field, Dr. Burhan Shawi said: As a matter of fact, there were signals issued by the Ministry of Communications on the so-called fourth license, as we have three licenses, the first for Asiacell, the second for Korek, and the third for Atheer and Zain Iraq, and if any other license will be granted, it will be named according to the sequence as the fourth license. The fourth license is for the third-generation of the mobile phone which carry out the other new technology, and added: the initial approval had been gotten by the Ministers Council on granting a fourth license in the third generation field, but according to the laws prevailing in the field of communications, the granting of licenses to any license is of the CMC's power exclusively, also said: We have had discussions with the Ministry of Communications, and the Commission explained its position in this regard, and initially it has no objection, emphasizing that the mechanism of granting the fourth license and maybe the fifth should take another form, and the Commission will show during the second half of this year the conditions for granting the fourth license.
From his side, Dr. Safa al-Din said: "There was a committee formed by the Presidency of the Council of Ministers to study the involvement of the public sector in granting the fourth license of the mobile phone under the presidency of the Minister of Communications, and after the discussions the ministry felt that it should engage a company with the ministry to give the fourth license, knowing that the ministry is facing problems in the field of the terrestrial phone service and the cable light, so we put the Commission's vision on this issue, and he added: If Ministry has the possibility of financial and technical, it could enter this field during the auction, which will be announced by the Commission. We also find that there is urgency in the releasing of the fourth license and exaggeration of the study of feasibility as the figures are fictional, and this is what we put it on the Ministry of Communications.
And about the question of Almada newspaper about whether if the Commission can produce a proposal to the Companies for the adoption of the Unit System rather than transfer the currency from dollar to the dinar, as in the case in Syria and Jordan?
Dr. Shawi answered, saying: For our mechanism of transfer fees of the mobile phone per second applicable universally, as it is also the cheapest provider to the citizen, and added: We have observations since 2006 and even today, shows that the calls wages deducted per minute, and we have done today is to require companies to apply the terms of the license per second and Iraqi dinar. With regard to the unit system, as most countries do not work on it.
And from his side, Dr. Safa, said: it was supposed to apply this mechanism from the first day of the contract, but because of the absence of Commission's management at that time, and the weakness of the regulatory side, the deterioration of the security situation, all of these reasons make companies behave the way it fits. Confirming: We do not acquiesce only the specific price in the Iraqi dinar and the company has to ensure the proportion of the benefit for agents not to be undertaken by the citizen.
And about a question of the Ala'had channel about the procedures taken by the Commission in case of non-obligation of the companies, Dr. Shawi, answered: Since the first day we found that all the companies committed irregularities within the contract agreed upon. As you know, the sale of licenses had been in Amman in 2007 and the license for each company one billion and 250 million dollars, half of this amount was paid and remained on each company 625 million dollars, indicating that there have been procrastination in the payment process, therefore it was agreed with installments the amount for a period of five years, versus improving their service to the audiance, that each company should pay annually 125 million, but We imposed a condition to give them experimentalism year to see how their commitment to the resolution, As every three months we will follow up and monitor the companies services and in the case of lack of commitment by companies to the State and the Commission, then we will cancel the installments then they have to pay a half billion dollar. And he added: Perhaps the normal citizen may not estimated what we see, because we appreciate that the companies came and spent billions in Iraq and provided service in Iraq, in addition to that we pay attention to the other side which is the investment in the telecommunications sector and the benefit that it had which belongs to the country, because it is the most successful investment since 2003 until now, and we aspire to live up the level of services and also cooperate with the companies to overcome the problems and difficulties which it faced by the conditions of the Ministry of Environment about the towers and telephone exchange. It also recently announced the decision of opening other branches of the Commission in the other provinces.
