By John Lee. Iraq's Communications and Media Commission (CMC) has ordered the immediate suspension of internet services for Korek Telecom due to what it described as outstanding debts and continued violations. A statement from CMC said the decision aims to pressure the company into settling its financial obligations. The CMC has formally requested the Ministry […]
By John Lee. Iraq has increased the rate at which it is installing fiber-optic internet connections. The Ministry of Communications reports that more than 3.5 million FTTH (fiber-to-the-home) connections have been complete so far in 2024. This compares to 2.9 million last year, 1.5 million in 2022, and 276,000 in 2021. (Source: Ministry of Communications)
By John Lee. Iraq's Minister of Communications, Dr. Hayam Al-Yasiri, announced that Iraq's international telecom transit capacity has increased to "1400G" [presumably 1,400 gigabits per second (Gbps) of bandwidth capacity] by mid-2024. This represents a significant increase on the 10G in previous years. According to a Ministry statement, this generated a revenue of $1.8 million […]
By John Lee. The Iraqi Ministry of Communications, under the direct supervision of Minister Dr. Hayam Al-Yasiri, announced the signing of a contract for the deployment of the 2Africa Pearls undersea cable. The agreement, signed with Gulf Submarine Cables Company owned by Saudi Arabia's STC, aims to route internet capacities from around the world through […]
By John Lee. Iraq was the nation with the largest number of internet shutdowns in 2023, according to a survey from Top 10 VPN. Its 66 shutdowns almost all occurred in relation to school exams, in an attempt to prevent cheating. Internet blackouts lasted a total of 185 hours, while social media shutdowns totalled 280 […]
By John Lee. Datareportal has issued a report on digital trends and behaviours in Iraq. Among the key finding are: There were 33.72 million internet users in Iraq at the start of 2023, when internet penetration stood at 74.9 percent. Iraq was home to 25.53 million social media users in January 2023, equating to 56.7 […]
One of the greatest obstacles facing many telecommunication companies across the world is their capacity and ability to combat gaming download speeds and latency. With the development of broadband and gaming occurring side by side, every company in this domain must do all they can to satisfy gamers internationally. With an expected mobile game user […]
Today, iQ proudly reveals its groundbreaking partnership with Tencent. In a bid to improve gaming latency and establish itself as a telecommunication pioneer, iQ has become the gaming publisher's first partner in Iraq, as well as one of its few partners in the region. iQ will provide Tencent with powerful servers and unmatched connectivity to […]
By John Lee. Qatar-based cloud, connectivity and content enabler Gulf Bridge International (GBI) has reportedly updated the 'North Route' of its subsea cable meshed smart network, connecting the Gulf to Europe through Iraq. According to Zawya, this improves route diversification and enhances the resilience of internet connectivity to and from the region. It says it […]
By John Lee. Sulaymaniyah-based internet provider iQ has launched its new Silk Route Transit fibre-optic service. According to a press release, the new service will, "improve connectivity in the Middle East to the rest of the world ... [and] provide better latency and heighten download speeds across the continent to enable unprecedented streaming and gaming […]
Earthlink to use Nokia's GPON solution to improve coverage in Iraq's eight governorates Earthlink Telecommunications will use the Nokia solution over eight governorates/provinces in the country with high-speed and quality fixed access services to over 1.5 million subscribers, as part of one of the largest Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) projects awarded in the country. Earthlink will use […]
By John Lee. German-based interconnection platform operator DE-CIX and internet exchange IRAQ-IXP have signed a strategic partnership, in the context of the Capacity Middle East event, for the future operations of "IRAQ-IXP powered by DE-CIX". According to a press release from DE-CIX, IRAQ-IXP powered by DE-CIX will be operated by DE-CIX under the DE-CIX as […]
