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Monday, 04 February 2008 |
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Orascom to open first 3G network in North Korea, where careless talk costs lives...
Orascom Telecom, based In Egypt, is to lead efforts to launch a 3G network in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (that’s North Korea to you and me, although it’s not very democratic, and can be called ‘DPRK’ for short).
Orascom, through its Telecom Holding (‘OTH’) unit, will invest US$400mn in licence fees and infrastructure in the first three years; the licence is valid for 25 years with a four-year period of exclusivity. The capital, Pyongyang, and other “major cities” will be covered within a year.
The vehicle for this endeavour is called ‘CHEO’ and is 75% owned by OTH, with the balance held by state-owned telco Korea Post and Telecommunications Corporation.
There is limited availability of mobile telephony at the moment but its use is restricted to government and military officials. Orascom confirms this by saying “there is currently no mobile services [sic] in the country.”
“We are continuing to head in the right strategic direction; our Greenfield license in the DPRK is in line with our strategy to penetrate countries with high population and low penetration by providing the first mobile telephony services”, says Orascom Telecom head Naguib Sawiris. “OTH has consistently proved its ability to successfully roll out mobile services into countries where no other operator has. OTH will continue to increase shareholder value and maintain its leadership in the markets it operates in.”
Early suggestions are that the service will be branded ‘Liberty’, ‘Freedom’ or ‘Speakeasy’. Sorry, I made that bit up.
Jim Chalmers
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