Asiacell's History
When it was first launched in 1999, Asiacell was a revolutionary concept in the Iraqi market, heralding a vision of an Iraq entirely connected under a fledgling GSM network. The company was entering a globally competitive market that was as challenging as it was fickle.
This mission of introducing telecommunications was in the midst of various economic sanctions and blockades by the International Community as well as the embargo of both the former Iraqi Governments. Many efforts were carried out to accomplish such an incredible and fantastic mission.
Introducing converged GSM networks to a country that bore more than its share of socioeconomic and political upheaval was also in itself a daunting task. Asiacell, however, met the challenge with a panache and professionalism that allowed the them to rise above these challenges and become a "flagship" telecom company of Iraq, paving the process the way for other players to enter the market.
The company's first commercial operations were launched in the year 2000 in the governorate of Suly, northern Iraq, which is where public awareness to the importance of mobile telecommunications began to grow substantially. In October 2003, Asiacell was granted a two-year GSM license for the six northern provinces of Iraq, catering in the process to a wider client base who collectively shared a need for a quality mobile network. The license was extended in 2005 to cover the entirety of the Iraqi republic.
In August 2007, Asiacell bid and won a 15-year national license, becoming the GSM telecom operator with the largest long-term network coverage in the country. The company's team quickly grew to reach almost 2000 employees, the vast majority of whom are Iraqis, and the company founded other executive offices in Baghdad, Basra, and other major cities in Iraq.
Today, the company caters to more than 6 million subscribers around the country, over a network that is touted as one of the most groundbreaking accomplishments in the history of Iraq.