CMC’s visit to the headquarters of Asia Cell Company in Sulaymaniyah

A delegation of the CMC visited the headquarters of Asia cell’s Company in Sulaimaniyah for the situation of the company and its technical sections, and information of the indicators of service’s quality from its monitoring center, on Thursday, 27.05.2010, and delegation included representatives from the Legal Department and the Department of managing and organizing the frequency spectrum of the Commission.
During the visit, the Commission’s delegation discussed many important and various topics with the administrators and technical representatives for Asia cell Company, which relates to the nature of the work and the mechanism of the company and the level of improving the quality and services provided to citizens, the Commission’s delegation has focused during its visit to discuss the most prominent of these topics as follows: - 

1. A discussion had been performed on the matter of the withdrawal of technical information for indicators of quality on three forms (the complete system, the system without Baghdad, the system of Baghdad only) so as to indicate external influences on Baghdad’s system which affecting on the indicators of the service’s quality at the system’s level.
2. The delegation discussed the matter of cordons with the officials of the exchanges in the company and it was recognized that there was an urgent need to open new cordons and there’s a confusion in understanding the subject of cordons, as the mean of the chokes is not in the exchange, but intended to chokes in the Cordons which granted by the Commission.
3. A visit had been performed in the site of the main unit of monitoring and maintenance to know the number of monitoring and operating centers, and distribute it in Iraq and how to manage the work by receiving warnings for all units of the network and deal with it expeditiously. And also knowing the process of withdraw the information from the web directly. And the delegation took a look at some of the operating sites (ON LINE) in Baghdad and the provinces exposed to external interference.
4. A discussion had been performed on the subject of the existence of overlaps with Asia cell’s Company in the border sites with Iran and the depth of the Iranian broadcast inside the Iraqi lands in the distance 9 to 10 km and has affecting repercussions on the network’s level and the company asked for the intervene by the Commission to coordinate on this subject, and also the Commission’s delegation knew that Korek’s Company is using all frequencies allocated to Asia cell’s Company in Arbil province and there is ongoing discussion between the two companies to resolve this problem and possibly the intervention of the Commission if necessary. 
5. The Commission’s delegation discussed the matter of the overlap’s level in Baghdad before and after the withdrawal of U.S. troops from the cities at the end of June 2009 and briefed on the extent of the differences occurring at the level of the system and the return of interference again after a brief period. As the delegation was equipped with a static device (Jamr) operates on the frequencies that work in the allocated packets (GSM / CDMA / DCS / PHS) for reading it and operation’s mode for being available at the local markets, and in this regard had been agreed with the company about sending images and data via email to the areas that exposed of the interference to radio Monitoring of the Commission for coordination on the issue and install these cases to solve it.
6. A discussion had been performed on the topic of the progressing of the company’s work and the level of achievement with an official of infrastructure and distributes the service of Asia Cell’s company for the period from the date of the decision’s issuance for installments until the date of the delegation's visit to the company’s headquarters, as the delegation briefed on the agenda of a number of the accomplished sites during the months (February, March, April, May) for the year 2010, which amounted to 305 sites in the whole of Iraq and the highest ratio of it in Baghdad’s province.
7. The issue had been raised on the obstacle’s matter to distribute the service which related to the Ministry of Environment and the Provincial Councils by the Company and the necessity of finding quick solutions, especially with the provincial councils, which appointed itself as alternative of the Commission in granting the license for the releasing of the towers.
8. A discussion had been performed on the points of the company's commitments to improve the service in front of the Negotiation’s Committee formed under the Council of Ministers Resolution No. (19) for the year 2010 with the Assistant of the CEO of Asia cell’s Company, as the delegation was informed that this subject is the prerogative of the CEO of the company, and he will work to answer all the questions of the visiting delegation to the Commission in the near future.
9. The delegation discussed the subject of new pricing and its negative impact on Iraqi citizen, as the delegation showed to the representatives of Asia cell’s Company and Under the recommendations of the prices’ Committee of the Commission as the pricing should be on the new system (seconds) with the same price or value when it was calculated with the system of minutes and find a balance between the two cases to reduce the damage. In this regard, Chief Marketing Officer of the Company rejected this proposal, on the base of that the license granted to them did not specify pricing for any service, and asked to keep the subject optional for the Iraqi people to choose the appropriate system to him and according to his need after the activation of the seconds’ service.
10. The delegation of the Commission discussed with the Chief Marketing Officer of Asia Cell’s company the differences in providing service and the conversion to a system of seconds between it and Zain’s Company, and how Asia cell had calculated the conversion rate from dollar to dinar of the citizen’s balance less than Zain’s Company on 01/04/2010 the date of conversion to reduce the damage on the citizen. As Asia cell also provides service of knowing the balance for free and not as performed by Zain Company as it deducts amount from the balance of citizens after the second attempt to know balance.
11.  The delegation of Asia cell’s Company claimed for providing detection of percentages for the citizen’s complaints received by an official of the information management’s unit in the company regarding to the new price to make a questionnaire on the extent of dissatisfaction of the citizen of this change, as the official stated that the Commission linked to the Iraqi parliament and that the Parliament represents the voice of the people and the Commission had to take a look in the interests of citizens, especially in the issue of giving him freedom of choice that suited to their needs. 
12. Also discussion had been performed on the procedures for Asia cell’s company to prevent access by SMS to the citizen by the company for the purpose of advertising and trade companies offers, and messages that pass for citizens illegally, and the chief marketing officer at Asia cell stated that they have the intention to solve this problem utterly, but it would take a year at less appreciation, and also agreed on the meetings recommendations held at the Commission’s headquarters regarding the matter of passing the massages from the company and that occurred by activating code for the company that enabled it to pass these messages optionally. 
13. The delegation discussed the matter of the company’s applications of Micro allocations which stalled in the package (26) GHz with the official of correspondence for Asia cell, who called for allocating four channels out of eight for Baghdad, but he gain only two channels and asked about the Commission’s procedures in providing alternatives in the other packages, as well as the allocations in the Micro packets (4 and 6) GHz to use it between Basra and Faw and between Basra and Umm Qasr, and he also stated that the required capacities does not exceed (STM 1) and by using a technique of (XPIC) the capacity will be doubled to (2STM1) for each axis, and also confirmed the necessity of hurrying in the completion of this matter because of its importance in expanding the network in the south of Iraq.
14. Finally a discussion had been performed on the matter of expiration period of prepayment cards after the conversion from dollar to dinar, as an official of correspondence in the company confirmed of not to change the validity period between the two cases, while on the monthly complaints’ report which sent by the Commission to Asia cell, an official of information’s unit stated to the delegation in it that it’s very useful and the company give great importance for it and treating it as soon as possible.