Orascom Telecom (News - Alert), the fourth largest Arab mobile operator by market value, completed its first 3G call on a Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) trial network in North Korea. Orascom, along with its North Korean subsidiary CHEO Technology, is now ready to launch 3G networks in the country toward the end of 2008.

 

Orascom’s entry into North Korea represents a change to the telecommunication market in a country that is isolated from the world due to political reasons.

 

Earlier this year, Orascom gained a license to offer 3G cellular services in North Korea for 25 years. The exclusive license is given to CHEO Technology, a joint venture between Orascom and Korea Post and Telecommunications, in which Orascom holds 75 percent stake.

 

Orascom intends to provide voice, data, and value-added services across the network. The total investment on infrastructure and license fees is expected to be $400 million for the next three years.

 

North Korea, the only remaining truly Communist country in the world, has been known notoriously to the outer world because of its secretive political separation and the restrictions imposed on its people by the government. In a country where government strictly monitors the population, the reach of a telecommunication service is always questionable.

 

In 2004, a Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) network was launched in the country; however, due to security reasons, access was restricted. That network is now used only by a few elite customers in the country.

 

Orascom plans to start by installing service in three major North Korean Initially, it expects to sign up about 100,000 customers.