BBC - GOP Backer But Bankrupt WorldCom Gets Iraqi Contract

Bankrupt US telecom firm MCI, formerly known as WorldCom, has landed a contract to begin rebuilding Iraq's shattered telecommunications network.

The US defence department deal, which appears to fall outside the mandate of USAID, the agency awarding other Iraq reconstruction contracts, is thought to be worth about $30m.

MCI will supply mobile phone services to about 10,000 military and aid workers in Iraqi capital Baghdad.

The US government has said a much larger contract to rebuild Iraq's telecoms infrastructure will be awarded by an incoming Iraqi administration.

Activists and rival companies have lobbied the US government to stop doing business with WorldCom, after its recent $11bn accounting scandal.