The country now has some 27 million mobile phone subscribers, compared with fewer than 2 million fixed-line telephone users. Even so, penetration rates remain fairly low compared with other parts of the Middle East. Internet services are a particular headache for individuals and businesses, with high prices and limited access and bandwidth.

The three main mobile service providers are market leader Zain Iraq, which had about 12.5 million mobile subscribers in 2013, Asiacell, which has 8.7 million, and Korek Telecom, the main operator in the Kurdistan region, which has about 3 million subscribers. Operators are currently competing to build nationwide networks and to introduce third and fourth generation (3G and 4G) services.

The availability of the internet is hampered by poor infrastructure. The state-run Iraqi Telephone & Postal Company and others have been working to extend networks and improve bandwidth, but the state’s insistence on control of the fibre-optic backbone has stifled private investment and prices are among the highest in the region. While the government has placed a priority on connecting Iraq to its neighbours – the high-capacity Gulf International Bridge undersea cable made landfall in late 2011 – the ramshackle state of the national fibre grid will continue to inhibit internet use.

As a result, Iraq has only a few million internet users, many of whom use local shops and cafes to go online. The three main service providers – Omnnea, Itisaluna and Kalimat – operate in the cities through wireless local loop (WLL) services connected with small satellite dishes. Businesses and those with higher incomes can subscribe to WLL, asymmetric digital subscriber line (ADSL) and other services.

With most reliable telecoms services limited to urban areas, users working in remote parts of Iraq, such as oil and gas companies and non-governmental organisations, often opt for bespoke telecoms systems. Houston-based Vizocom is among those private operators providing satellite, microwave and fibre-optic links and voice and data systems for their clients.