07-F-2496 Telecommunication Reconstruction Funding

ORHAICOMMS To: Hd Home Team on Iraqi Telecommunications DOS From: Hd Communications- Ministry Transport and Communications Dme! 23 Apr 03 Subject: Telecommunication Reconstruction Funding I. I now believe that there is no fund"mg currently set aside for the reconstruction of telecommunications within Iraq. CR£C and in pankular Maj Oen Whitley has already exptased alarm that ORHA has yet to C01DIDei1Ce wodc oo the repair ~d rejuvcoadon of communications. The Jack of communications is se\terely hampering power generation and dlsrribarion, ran movement and the production and distribution of oil. A serviceable commm1ication network is also cridcal for effective civil governance. HA c:oordinatioo and emergency JaPOn&e services. 2. Our initial estimate is that reconstnlelion will require appro~imately SM300 co rel\lm dle systems to pre-war levels, rhereby, providing a basic telephone network between Baghdad and the !1UVor population centte&. Additional funding, probably from die private orc:oDJJDCl'Cial sector, will be needed for the fo11ow Oft modernisation of the lelecomm system.. We have developed a statemenl of work for the recoostlUctlon which is split into the following padcases: • Jmmedjate Rqmjr. The immediate repair of regional switches and intercity fibre optic links by Iraqi teleccmexpens. Spares and ~Jacemempans only are required for this task. • I mica) Damase AssesSJDPQl. A detailed technical damage assessment of the complete infrastnlcture to ascertain the technical slat\ls and set work priorities. • Bmerpncy Relier. 1bc delivery of ttansportable emergency relief equipment as a short rcnn expedient whilst tbe fixed infrastnrcture is repaired or replaced. This will include a switching centre in Bashdad and the provision of ~lite communication links to che centres of regioual governance while work is compleced on fibre opdc land lines. • Regulatory Preaamtjon. Regulatory preparation to enable the future deregulation of telecommunication provision. thereby enabling private and commercial investment :in lhe telecommunicalion system for its eJlpansion and modernisation. • Repiacgnent. Replacement of destroyed switching. international connectivity and unsupportable switches in lbe regional cenues. 3. The tedmical damage assessmcnu wDI not only determine our priorities and drive our courses of action but will also allow the refinement of costing infonuation. The JCABJ endorsed tbe scope of work at today's; meedng. I am in lbe process of passin& this up the ORHA 5talfing chain but need you to start work on this issue now particularly given the fact that they are 0111 of contact in Baghdad. Need I state dw without funding we will really stnlggle to get telecomm and the rest for the coantry up aod running. I firmly believe that ORHA wiD not succeed in its mission if we do not get the lelecom sector up and running. Finally we need to be clear that private and commercia] investment will not meet the immediacy of this crisis situation. The HT acknowledged that we could not license GSMIMobile operators until the interim authority was up and running and that is likely to take many weeks. We wonld have an even bigger problem divesting the lPTC of its fibre and switch infrastructure in a matter of weeks. 4. Rest ~that I finnJy believe commercial activity wUJ be required and is the way foiWard in the future, but at dlis point me only rapid solution is ro fund the reconstruction of the telecom sector ro bring