Soldiers help set up phone network in Northern Iraq
Army News Service
Release Date: 1/6/2004
By Pfc. Joshua Hutcheson
AL SULAIMANYA, Iraq (Army News Service, Jan. 6, 2004) -- Members of the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) participated in a two-day conference in the Kurdish region of Northern Iraq to set up a telephone network centered on the city of Mosul.
The birth of a communications network would connect more people in Iraq. Prior to the war, about 3 percent of the houses in Iraq had telephones; current levels are at about 8 percent, said Master Sgt. James Price, division radio noncommissioned officer in charge, 101st Airborne Division.
Without a proper network many people couldn't call those outside of their villages.
"If you think of a hotel where you can call everybody within the hotel, but nobody else outside the hotel, it'd be similar to that," Price said. "That's why we're working on this infrastructure, connecting all the switches together."
The phone companies in Iraq are government-owned and operated. Prices are low but it often takes a while for things to be repaired.
"It's almost as if it's a not-for-profit organization. It normally costs $150 for a line, and it costs less than a dinar a minute to talk, so you're looking at 750 minutes to equal one dollar of revenue," Price said.
To establish a communication infrastructure, members of telephone companies in Mosul, Erbil, Dohuk, Al-Sulaimanya, Kirkuk, and employees of the Coalition Provisional Authority met along with people from the Iraqi Ministry of Communication and the 101st Abn. Div. to figure out the best way to set the network up.
"The conference was a who's-who of the phone company in Northern Iraq," Price said.
To begin the process the committee decided to first start off with a microwave line-of-site system between all the major and minor switches in Northern Iraq. They mapped out the best configuration that would allow maximum communication between the major city switches of Mosul, Erbil, and Dohuk and link many of the smaller towns and villages in between.
Creating the network will require towns to build or repair communications towers, and purchase power generators. The representatives from the cities will have to supply a list of what equipment they need and the money amounts to officials from the 101st Abn. Div.
"Once everybody gives us their requirements, we put that into a project request, send it to CPA, and they will assist with financing," Price said.
The microwave network will cost between $4.5 and $5 million to build. Funding will come from the $87 billion approved by Congress to use in the reconstruction of the country, and other countries, Price said.
"In a year, we will have made a lot of progress, it's going to be pretty exciting watching the country grow," Price said.
After the microwave system is in place, the next step the committee will take, is to install a fiber-optic cable connection. That connection will be slower and harder to put in place, Price said.
The role of the 101st Abn. Div. in this on-going operation is to provide technical support, act as a liaison between the Iraqis and representatives from CPA, and supply transportation when necessary. Soldiers from the division communications section will also provide any help in repairing equipment or communications machinery.
Plans are in place to smooth the transition of this project into the hands of the next group of soldiers who will take over operations in Northern Iraq once the 101st Abn. Div. leaves.
"Our goal is to transition with Stryker Brigade so that there's no loss of support to the local community," Price said.
The meeting, which was held in December, was the second of what's scheduled to be a monthly event for the infrastructure committee.
(Editor's note: Spc. Joshua Hutcheson is a journalist assigned to the 101st Airborne Division)
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