The CMC sent official letters to domestic telecommunications carriers such as Asiacell and Zain, urging them to cut their networks with Korek over “the presence of many financial, legal, and technical matters, as well the continuation of the company Korek Telecom’s failure to respond to the judicial decisions issued by the Supreme Judicial Council,” according to the letter from the regulator seen by Rudaw English.
With the decision, Korek subscribers are unable to make or receive calls and messages from other domestic and international mobile phone carriers.
The CMC also accused Korek of a “lack of seriousness” in paying its financial dues and urged other carriers to remain disconnected from the company until it “reviews its process and pays the amounts owed.”
On October 22, the CMC warned Korek that it would block the operator’s services in 10 days if it does not meet its financial obligations.
This is not the first time the regulatory body has taken action against Korek. In March 2019, the CMC ordered operators to block calls between their users and Korek customers, saying Korek had failed to meet its “contractual obligations” to allow customers to keep their phone numbers when they change service providers. Calls between Korek and other operators were blocked for five days.
In March, the Paris-based International Court of Arbitration found Korek liable and awarded $1.65 billion in damages to Kuwaiti logistics company Agility as part of a long-running case dating back to 2011 when a joint venture between French telecom giant Orange and Agility obtained a 44% stake in Korek for $810 million, with CMC approval.
