Large swathes of the country's fixed-line network, installed by France's Alcatelin the 1980s and rehabilitated by the same company during the UN sanctions regime, were destroyed during the recent conflict. This has created problems for the Office for Reconstruction & Humanitarian Assistance (ORHA) and other agencies in co-ordinating reconstruction efforts.

Alcatel was working on the installation of a telecoms station and associated equipment before it was forced to withdraw its workers in late February. The company had been awarded at least seven contracts for rehabilitation work since 1998, several of which were still pending UN approval when the war broke out (MEED 22:12:00, Telecoms). Alcatel is still undecided about whether to seek compensation or to hold out for new work. 'We are still looking for the best way to conclude the execution of the contract, but we need first to assess the status of our equipment before we notify the relevant authorities - we are in constant contact with the main [UN] Security Council members,' says an Alcatel official. 'But we are willing to proceed with work in Iraq.'

MCI delivered the first equipment to Iraq in mid-May after delays in shipments - the contract is understood to have been awarded several weeks earlier. The network is expected to support some 5,000-10,000 subscribers, and access for the time being will be limited to senior US and Iraqi officials and international aid organisations. Motorola's network will perform a similar function in connecting security forces and emergency services.

The MCI and Motorola networks are short-term measures, and the key question in the long term is whether to rehabilitate existing telecoms infrastructure or to adopt new technology and build a new national mobile network, for which MCI's limited Baghdad network could act as a nucleus. 'For the time being no final decision has been made on reconstruction, but the US would like to see a regulator put in place and then to make some room for private investors to come in,' says an industry source.

Industry analysts say that any decisions on construction of a national GSM network are unlikely to be made until an interim Iraqi government is in place. 'The market at the moment is in the situation where they are building some kind of platform, but it will take a couple of months before the market is structured and they can start issuing licences for a national network,' says a European supplier. 'But there are a lot of question marks still hanging there. There are many telecoms companies interested in work but no-one knows what they are planning or who to contact.'

MCI's network is likely to act as a nucleus for at least one national mobile network. The company will use European GSM technology for its Baghdad network - the standard adopted across the Middle East and the standard specified by a DoD directive in April for any national mobile network in Iraq. However, there has been considerable political opposition in the US to the use of the GSM standard. The majority of US mobile users use proprietary code division multiple access (CDMA) technology developed by California-based Qualcomm.

'We haven't been informed about the longer-term plans for Iraq once they have set up this GSM network for Greater Baghdad, but the thing about building this network is that it can quite practicably be extended to a wider area, depending on the terms of the licence,' says a spokesperson for the UK-based GSM Association.

The association, which allocates codes to new GSM operators entering the market, has been advising the DoD on the MCI contract. 'In our view, GSM is the only technology to consider, given that it is ubiquitous throughout the surrounding countries and the task is about integrating Iraq into the wider community. Also there are practical considerations, as GSM equipment is much more readily available than CDMA, and most US military personnel in the region are used to using GSM equipment on a day-to-day basis.'