US embassy cable - 03AMMAN2196

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 AMMAN 002196 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
TREASURY FOR OASIA--MARSHALL MILLS, WON CHANG 
USDOC FOR 4520/ITA/MAC/ONE/COBERG 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECPS, EINV, ECON, JO 
SUBJECT: TF1Z01: JORDAN TELECOM REGULATOR NIJEM ON THE 
RIGHT TRACK 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED; PLEASE HANDLE ACCORDINGLY 
 
1.  (SBU) SUMMARY: Muna Nijem, the head of the Jordanian 
Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (TRC) concluded a 
week of meetings recently in Washington with FTC, DOS, and 
World Bank officials in which she emphasized her commitment 
to make the TRC, with USG assistance, the strong body the 
sector needs as it moves toward market liberalization over 
the next two years.  Tracking a debate now taking place 
within the USG over the makeup of the Iraqi telecom 
infrastructure, Nijem expressed her hope that the Jordanian 
telecom sector might play a role in post-war Iraq.  END 
SUMMARY 
 
2.  (SBU) We met with Nijem April 4 following her return from 
Washington to get a read-out on her meetings of introduction 
with Ambassador Gross, FTC Chairman Powell, Commissioner 
Copps, and private sector officials.  She described her trip 
as a "wonderful, productive visit," and said she found great 
support for her efforts and encouragement that the TRC was 
moving the sector in the right direction. 
 
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MOBILE MARKET 
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3.  (SBU) Nijem was most enthusiastic about the current 
debate in Washington regarding telecom infrastructure in 
post-war Iraq and the possibility that Jordan might play an 
important commercial role in this regard.  She said the 
current tenor of the debate, which revolves around whether 
CDMA (Code Division Multiple Access, the Qualcomm-developed 
mobile technology dominant in the U.S.) or GSM (Global System 
for Mobile, developed in Europe and prevalent through most of 
the world) becomes the technology of choice for Iraq's 
primitive telecom sector, seemed to be moving in favor of 
CDMA.  She noted that House Resolution 1441, still in 
committee, requires the use of CDMA technology for the 
provision of wireless service in contracts awarded to provide 
Iraqi assistance.  GSM, however, is currently the sole 
wireless communication technology provided in the region. 
Iraq has no mobile phone network at present, and its 
fixed-line network is state-owned. 
 
4.  (SBU) Nijem said that Jordan is well-placed to become a 
regional leader in telecommunications following sector 
liberalization in 2004, when the current mobile duopoly ends. 
 She said that while both current mobile licenses mandate the 
use of GSM, she would like to use liberalization to make the 
market technologically neutral and would welcome bids by CDMA 
operators on a third license when it is made available some 
time this year.  This would enable Jordan to build on the 
probable establishment of the CDMA protocol in Iraq and make 
it more attractive to investors seeking a wider regional 
niche.  Drawing on her previous experience as Director of 
Next Generation Technologies for Motorola, Nijem expressed a 
strong preference for CDMA, and said that a Jordanian-Iraqi 
CDMA presence, based in Jordan, could be "a showcase" for 
innovation and development. 
 
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FCC AND STATE MEETINGS A HIT 
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5.  (SBU) Nijem said she had a "wonderful visit" with FCC 
Chairman Powell.  She said that  Powell was "fully engaged" 
during the 90 minute meeting, and was interested in "lending 
his support on some issues, such as spectrum management, 
licensing procedures, capacity building and ethics."  She 
said Powell promised support in the form of FCC staff 
assistance and whatever other technical assistance the FCC 
could provide.  Nijem said that she proposed a video 
conference with his staff for later in April, the first in a 
series of such video conferences she said would "further the 
collaboration" between the FCC and the TRC. 
 
6.  (SBU) Likewise, Nijem saw her visit with Ambassador Gross 
and Commissioner Copps as "very positive and encouraging." 
She was particularly gratified by Gross's offer of technical 
assistance to the TRC, which she said could take the form of 
help in locating funding for FCC travel to meet with TRC 
counterparts, training assistance, and support for capacity 
building.  She said that this meeting also laid the 
groundwork for continued cooperation between the TRC and the 
USG. 
 
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INTERNATIONAL CALL QUALITY: STILL A PROBLEM 
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7.  (SBU) In separate meetings with AT&T and Worldcom, Nijem 
strove to find a way to improve the quality of international 
telecommunications traffic between the U.S. and Jordan. 
Worldcom Senior VP Michael Sauer agreed to work with Jordan 
Telecom (JT) on reducing rates paid to Jordan Telecom in 
exchange for an increase by Worldcom in the amount of traffic 
it sends directly to (JT).  AT&T Managing Director for 
International Settlements Sharif Fahmy expressed similar 
interest in increasing direct circuit traffic to Jordan based 
on a reduction of JT interconnection rates.  Fahmy explained 
to Nijem, however, that AT&T's biggest concerns were JT's 
high rates for calls to mobiles, which he said were much 
higher than other alternatives it had for termination.  She 
said she would work with JT and Fastlink, Jordan's other 
mobile carrier, in an effort to bring rates down closer to 
the level charged by illegal, lower quality providers. 
 
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COMMENT 
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8.  (SBU) As Jordan's new chief telecom regulator, Nijem 
continues to show savvy and determination in enlisting 
American expertise in assisting the TRC with such thorny 
issues as termination rates, new mobile licenses, and 
regulatory ethics.  As she observes, mobile market 
liberalization offers an excellent opportunity for Jordan to 
become a regional telecom leader, one that is technology 
neutral and fosters a truly open market and paving the way 
for fixed-line liberalization in 2005.  Post remains 
committed to offer her support, technical as well as moral, 
as she works to establish a strong and independent TRC. 
GNEHM