Iraqi Communications Minister Announces Dismantling Major Network Selling Commercial Internet to Homes

Iraq's Minister of Communications, Mustafa Sanad, announced on Tuesday the dismantling of an organized network selling commercial internet capacities to over 10,000 residential units. In coordination with the National Security Agency, the Minister revealed that the network consisted of companies re-routing and selling internet capacities designated for commercial and non-residential use, marketing them to citizens as home subscriptions via unofficial invoices. Sanad confirmed the completion of all necessary legal procedures and judicial approvals, noting this operation is part of a broader effort to apprehend dozens of monitored networks being successively dismantled. He highlighted that some violating companies abruptly cut service to citizens to conceal their infractions, without official shutdown orders from the Ministry. He also pointed out that the annual financial waste from these illegal invoicing operations, which serve over 1.5 million users, is estimated at approximately 200 billion Iraqi dinars. The Ministry of Communications pledged that, if these funds or part thereof are recovered, they will be directed towards providing free internet services to certain public service institutions and recreational venues, reducing current subscription prices, and increasing internet speed by 20% for fiber optic and wireless networks by 2027.