ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraq’s Communications and Media Commission (CMC) said Sunday it had begun procedures to shut down the main switching centers of Erbil-based Korek Telecom, paving the way for the immediate suspension of its services in 14 provinces, excluding the Kurdistan Region’s four provinces, a month after a regulatory deadline for subscribers to secure their digital accounts expired.
“Specialized teams closed four of the company’s main exchanges,” read a statement from the CMC, detailing that one exchange in Babil province, one in Basra, two in Baghdad, and the company’s main site in Kirkuk have been shut down, as coordination is underway to close Korek’s switching centers in Nineveh province to “finalize the remaining measures.”
The CMC confirmed that these procedures resulted in “the suspension of Korek network coverage across 14 Iraqi provinces, excluding the three [four, including Halabja] provinces of the Kurdistan Region.”
The statement comes as the regulator said in early October that, following a parliamentary request, it would grant a “grace period” of a month for Korek subscribers to add SIM cards from “licensed mobile operators [naming Asiacell and Zain Iraq]” to the platforms that support multiple phone numbers.
The extended grace periodwas aimed at “accommodating users and allowing them sufficient time to secure their accounts and digital services,” the communication regulator said at the time, while urging subscribers to keep their Korek SIM cards as it strives to protect “user rights and interests alongside enforcing legal and regulatory measures and safeguarding state rights.”
Earlier in August, the CMC asked Korek users to take “precautionary measures” as it vowed legal action against the telecommunications company by the end of September, citing its failure to settle outstanding debts in license fees and other financial commitments that it estimated at around $1.5 billion.
Korek issued a statement hours before the CMC’s Sunday statement, saying that it “reserves” the right to demand compensation for “all damages incurred and currently being incurred” for measures “unilaterally” taken by the regulator’s chief, Baligh Abu Kalal.
The statement cited Kalal’s cancellation of a 2025 settlement agreement in which Korek acknowledged the debts and vowed to pay them back in installments, saying the Iraqi regulator’s chief “went as far as taking measures unrelated to the licensing contract, such as closing the headquarters of a company registered under Iraqi Companies Law.”
In September, Korek released a statement welcoming a judicial ruling that upheld the validity of a 2025 settlement contract. Nevertheless, the regulatory body promptly clarified that the verdict was being met with "inaccurate interpretations," emphasizing that the decision did not void other administrative and legal actions executed against the telecom provider, including the shutdown of its main corporate premises and branch facilities.
Disruptions to Korek's services began in late 2023, when the commission launched enforcement actions over unpaid financial obligations, cutting the company's internet services outside the Kurdistan Region and blocking calls between Korek and competing networks across Iraq.
