Amidst all the bad news flying out of the country, it's odd to remember that life goes on as normal in Iraq. Today the bidding starts on three 15 year mobile operator licenses, which will replace the three interim licenses introduced after the 2003 invasion.
Five operators are in the running, and the minimum bid is $300 million, which seems a bargain compared to the $4.6 billion Google alone has set aside for a small section of the upcoming US 700 MHz auction.
The Iraqi government will bump its current revenue sharing deal from 13% to 18%, but depending on how the auction goes, both this and the license fees could rise.
Iraq sets $300 million bid price in mobile licenses [Reuters]
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