"Coalition forces had previously prohibited the use of the phones by military personnel and embedded media due to security concerns, which have since been reduced," Centcom explained in a statement.

The US military had slapped the ban two weeks into the war in Iraq, on April 3, after the Thuraya satphones had been deemed to "represent a security risk to units and personnel on the battlefield," despite denials by the UAE-based company.

It had been feared that civilian phone calls could be used to guide Iraqi bombs or help Iraqis pinpoint coalition forces.

The ban affected the 500 Thuraya phones used by US forces in the Centcom areas as well as reporters "embedded" with units in Iraq.

A week after US forces took over Baghdad, all Iraqi cities are under coalition control and the bulk of the fighting is over, with the focus now on reconstruction.

SPACE.WIRE