InterDigital Inc (IDCC)

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Iraq Could Become a CDMA Oasis



Mar 28, 2003 (ComputerWire via COMTEX) -- Qualcomm Inc's CDMA mobile network technology could gain an unexpected boost if an American Congressman gets his way.

Californian Republican, Darrell Issa, along with other lawmakers, has petitioned US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld to block moves by two government agencies to supply GSM mobile phone networks to Iraq once the current conflict is over.

Issa said the selection of GSM technology by the US Defense Department and US Agency for International Development is unpatriotic.

"If U.S. taxpayers are going to be gifting billions of dollars in technology and infrastructure to the Iraqi people we ought to make sure, to the greatest extent possible, that those expenditures also benefit the American people and the American economy," Issa said in a statement. "If we build a system based on European technology the Europeans will receive the royalties, not U.S. patent holders. From an investment standpoint, that is a bad decision."

Leaving aside the US's current disagreements with numerous European countries, a decision to equip Iraq with CDMA networks would be a tactically poor one, given GSM's overwhelming dominance in the Middle East.

The GSM Association currently lists 22 GSM networks in Arabic states and a further 21 in east and central Asia. In comparison, the CDMA Development Group lists only four countries in physical or cultural proximity to Iraq that have deployed CDMA to any degree: Egypt, Yemen, Israel and Iraq's neighbor, Kuwait.

But providing Iraq with the appropriate network for its region, where roaming and other inter-operator agreements would help foster increased use of mobile communications in the country, is only part of the picture.

Pre-war, telecoms analyst Pyramid Research Inc predicted capital expenditure on mobile networks in the country of about $33m in 2003 and $36m in 2004. Having to replace damaged equipment after the war would significantly increase this figure.

ComputerWire News: Issue 4636, March 28, 2003(C) Copyright 2003 ComputerWire.
Not to be reproduced in whole or in part without written permission.

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