North Korea is stepping up its telecommunications services with a new 3G cellular network, called the Wideband Code Division Multiple Access. It will be operated by Cheo Technology, the joint venture between Orascom Telecom and the state-run Korea Posts and Telecommunications Corp (KPTC).

Cheo received a 25-year license to operate a WCDMA (Wideband Code Division Multiple Access) network in North Korea and it includes certain benefits: the operator has four years of exclusive rights to operate a cell phone service and also, for the first five years, it will not pay any taxes.

"This is not just about providing third-generation mobile services. We are making history in a country that is developing and opening up in a remarkable way," CEO Naguib Sawiris told Reuters.

Orascom Telecom, which holds 75 percent of Cheo, announced that it plans to invest more than $400 million in the network during the first three years, in order to offer "voice, data, and value-added services at accessible prices to the Korean people." The network will first be available in the capital Pyongyang and from that point on, it will slowly expand all across the country.

This represents an important move, as the government has been limiting the access to information and telecommunications resources for quite some time and the people will significantly benefit from the decision.

The network was first used in 2002 but the mobile phone services were immediately cut short on April 22, 2004, after an explosion on a train at a railway station in Ryongchon, which was apparently connected to mobile phones, killed 160 people and wounded an estimated 1,300 others. Officials feared that the incident was a carefully planned scheme to assassinate the regime's leader Kim Jong-il, and decided to take immediate action.

Mr. Naguib Sawiris said he believes that at least 10 percent of the population will use the service, and expects approximately 50,000 subscribers in the first six months. The reason why the estimates are rater low is because out of North Korea’s 23 million inhabitants, very few will be able to afford the service, not to mention a 3G device or any other high-end phone.

"Both sides agreed to realize long-term cooperation in the sector of telecommunication of the DPRK in the spirit of South-South cooperation and the principles of mutual respect and non-interference in internal affairs," the state-controlled Korea Central News Agency reported after the visit concluded.

Orascom Telecom is one of the biggest companies affiliated to the Orascom Group and is one of the biggest network operators in Africa, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Middle East. It operates GSM networks in Algeria, Tunisia, Zimbabwe, Egypt, Pakistan and Pakistan, with a total of over 74 million subscribers, as reported earlier this year in March. The company is also involved with other projects, such as OTV (a satellite TV station), Mobinil WiFi (a WiFi coverage service for cafes and restaurants in Egypt), Onkosh (an Internet search engine for Arab users) and even the submarine cable market, which is currently in development.