Clarification

In the June issue of Mobile Radio Technology magazine, the last line of Lynnette Luna’s cover story, “Wireless in Iraq,” disappeared. For the sake of context and clarity, the last two paragraphs of her story appear below. We regret, and apologzie for, any confusion this may have caused.

Since pre-war Iraq was in heavy debt with France, Russia and China, it’s possible the United States could renegotiate the debt by allowing firms in these countries to recover their contracts, said Braude. For instance, French firm Alcatel had a $76 million fixed overhaul contract pending that was shelved once the U.S. invaded Iraq.

“Telecoms and oil are two of the most politicized contracts because there were outstanding contracts signed with the previous government and other companies,” said Braude. “We may find France or Russia trying to leverage this debt and agree to forgive the debt in exchange for recovering contracts. We’re already seeing evidence that Russia has been doing this in its negotiations with the U.S. That’s why it’s so difficult to tender a contract.”