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Telephone Service Repair to Begin at the Al-Mamoun Telephone Exchange
Baghdad, Iraq
October 2003
The Al-Mamoun telephone exchange will restore telephone services to approximately 30,000 subscribers. Al-Mamoun is one of 12 telephone exchanges in the Baghdad region which were destroyed in the recent conflict. USAID partner Bechtel and the Coalition Provisional Authority are working with the Iraqi Telephone and Postal Company to restore landline telephone service and provide international telephone service. The first international telephone call through the new Al-Mamoun exchange occurred on October 23, 2003.
The Al-Mamoun Telephone Exchange where repair work will restore telephone services to approximately 30,000 subscribers. Al-Mamoun is one of 12 telephone exchanges in the Baghdad region which were deystroyed in the recent conflict. USAID partner Bechtel is working with the Iraqi Telephone and Postal Company to restore landline telephone service and provide a gateway for international telephone service. Workers run cables to the new switching station.
The Al-Mamoun Telephone Exchange where repair work will restore telephone services to approximately 30,000 subscribers. Al-Mamoun is one of 12 telephone exchanges in the Baghdad region which were deystroyed in the recent conflict. USAID partner Bechtel is working with the Iraqi Telephone and Postal Company to restore landline telephone service and provide a gateway for international telephone service. Iraqi workers begin to splice cables into the new exchange. The first international telephone call through the new Al-Mamoun exchange is scheduled for 23 October, 2003.
The Al-Mamoun Telephone Exchange where repair work that will restore telephone services to approximately 30,000 subscribers. Al-Mamoun is one of 12 telephone exchanges in the Baghdad region which were deystroyed in the recent conflict. USAID partner Bechtel is working with the Iraqi Telephone and Postal Company to restore landline telephone service and provide a gatewy for international telephone service. The trailers in foreground will replace switching equipment formerly housed in the damaged building in the background.
Underground cables have been spliced at the Al-Mamoun Telephone Exchange where repair work will restore telephone services to approximately 30,000 subscribers. Al-Mamoun is one of 12 telephone exchanges in the Baghdad region which were deystroyed in the recent conflict. USAID partner Bechtel is working with the Iraqi Telephone and Postal Company to restore landline telephone service and provide a gateway for international telephone service. Iraqi workers begin to splice cables into the new exchange. The first international telephone call through the new Al-Mamoun exchange is scheduled for 23 October, 2003.
Six huge generators were looted from this site at the Al-Mamoun Telephone Exchange where repair work will restore telephone services to approximately 30,000 subscribers. Al-Mamoun is one of 12 telephone exchanges in the Baghdad region which were deystroyed in the recent conflict. USAID partner Bechtel is working with the Iraqi Telephone and Postal Company to restore landline telephone service and provide a gateway for international telephone service. Iraqi workers begin to splice cables into the new exchange. The first international telephone call through the new Al-Mamoun exchange is scheduled for 23 October, 2003.

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USAID Announces the Completion of Iraq Telephone Exchange Rehabilitation

WASHINGTON, DC 20523
PRESS OFFICE
http://www.usaid.gov
Press: (202) 712-4320
Public Information: (202) 712-4810

2004-012

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

February 26, 2004

BAGHDAD, IRAQ - The U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) today announced the integration of the 13 new switches and a new International Satellite Gateway with the 14 existing telephone switches of the Iraqi Telephone and Postal Company (ITPC) in Baghdad. The new switches and international gateway were installed by USAID partner Bechtel.

Before the conflict, 1.1 million Iraqis, half of which were in Baghdad, subscribed to the ITPC for landline telephone service. In Baghdad, 240,000 out of 540,000 telephone lines were out of service at 12 telephone exchange sites.

As part of the CPA overall Reconstruction Program, USAID and its implementing partner Bechtel restored the sites, which allow the ITPC to bring all telephone lines back into operation. Containerized, modern telephone switches were installed and are connected to and being monitored and controlled from the new Network Operations Center at Al Mamoun, the largest site in the country. The ITPC staff is connecting network wiring and programming subscriber numbers to allow final activation. Nearly 80% of individual subscriber lines have now been connected. All fully operational telephones nationwide can access the switch at Al Mamoun and the International Satellite Gateway. Once connected to the gateway, outbound international calls can be made using a prepaid phone card. Active subscribers are receiving inbound calls.

USAID and Bechtel collaborated closely with the ITPC on this project. ITPC crews performed much of the work including locating intact cable to which they spliced new cables and performed all cable splicing and wiring of the main distribution frames of the switches.

In addition to the exchange switches, USAID partner Bechtel is restoring portions of the main 2,000 kilometer, north-south fiber optic backbone connecting Dahuk in the far north to Umm Qasr in the extreme south. Connectivity between all cities north and south of Baghdad will deliver voice and data communications the country needs both for its immediate requirements and for future economic development.

In support of the Coalition Provisional Authority's objectives to restore essential services, USAID is allocating $50 million for telecommunications. For more information on CPA's and USAID's reconstruction efforts in Iraq including photos, please visit www.cpa-iraq.org and www.usaid.gov/iraq/.

The U.S. Agency for International Development has provided economic and humanitarian assistance worldwide for more than 40 years.

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