Zain Iraq
Encyclopedia
Mobile phone
A mobile phone is a device which can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile network operator...
operator in Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
owned by the Zain
Zain
-People:*as a given name in general , orwith a first name of Zain*Zain Abbas , a Pakistan-born cricketer*Zain Amat , a Singaporean trapshooter*Zain Awan , an India-born Arab TV journalist...
group. The company was formed in December 2007 after Zain purchased Iraqna
Iraqna
Iraqna was an Iraqi Mobile telecommunication company offering services in the middle of Iraq. It was established after the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003. It was a subsidiary of Orascom Telecom. In 2007, it was sold to Zain to form with its subsidiary in Iraq MTC Atheer a bigger company. The new...
from Orascom Telecom
Orascom Telecom Holding
Orascom Telecom Holding S.A.E. is a leading international telecommunications company operating GSM networks in the Middle East, Africa, Canada and Asia. It started its operations in Egypt by launching the first egyptian mobile operator in 1998, ....
for US$1.2 billion, and merged it with its existing Iraqi operator MTC Atheer.
History
Iraqna launched operations in Iraq in December 2003, after the fall of Saddam HusseinSaddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti was the fifth President of Iraq, serving in this capacity from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003...
regime in Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
, then with an exclusive license to provide mobile
Mobile phone
A mobile phone is a device which can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile network operator...
telephony
Telephony
In telecommunications, telephony encompasses the general use of equipment to provide communication over distances, specifically by connecting telephones to each other....
services in Iraq’s central region. Despite tough market conditions, the scope was extended to cover other areas in Iraq where at December 1, 2007 it covered 99% of the central region of Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
and approximately 90% of the southern region spanning some 7000 km.
MTC Atheer was awarded a 15 year nationwide license in August 2007 for US$1.25 billion.
Services
The operation provides a range of prepaid and postpaidPostpaid
Post Paid: A model of cellular service whereby the customer is charged for usage in the prior month , and hence does not feature any limitations on volume of service used...
voice, data and multimedia
Multimedia
Multimedia is media and content that uses a combination of different content forms. The term can be used as a noun or as an adjective describing a medium as having multiple content forms. The term is used in contrast to media which use only rudimentary computer display such as text-only, or...
telecommunications services, serving more than 13 million customers.