Iraq's Communications Minister Seeks Simultaneous 5G Launch Across Provinces and Kurdistan Region
Minister Mustafa Sanad says problems with the Region are simple and solvable, confirms a planned Erbil visit, and calls for a unified Iraqi front before the international community on telecommunications
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) - Iraqi Communications Minister Mustafa Sanad confirmed on Saturday that his ministry is working toward the simultaneous launch of 5G services across Iraq's provinces and the Kurdistan Region, describing outstanding issues between Baghdad and Erbil on telecommunications as simple and manageable, and confirming that he is committed to visiting Erbil in the near future.
Speaking to the Iraqi News Agency, Sanad said that the Kurdistan Region's representative in Baghdad had submitted a written invitation from the Kurdistan Region's Prime Minister from the very first week of his ministerial tenure, and that the Region's Minister of Transport and Communications personally reaffirmed the invitation during a visit approximately one week ago. "We are determined to go to Erbil," he said.
On the outstanding issues between the federal ministry and the Kurdistan Region, Sanad described them as simple pending matters rather than structural disputes, citing as one example the internet cable running from Basra to Europe that passes through the Kurdistan Region, which requires coordination with companies operating in the Region upon arrival. He said the ministry has requested that Iraq present a unified face to the international community, and that it is possible to reach an understanding between the federal government and the Region so that international coordination passes through the federal Communications Ministry.
Sanad also addressed the question of the Region's telecommunications companies, noting that the Kurdistan Region's Communications Ministry is responsible for several operators including Korek Telecom, and that the Region does not have a dedicated telecommunications regulatory authority equivalent to the federal body. This structural difference means that when emergencies arise, the Region's operators contact the federal ministry directly rather than a regional regulatory counterpart.
On the 5G file specifically, Sanad acknowledged that the Kurdistan Region is ahead of the federal government in its preparatory steps for launching the service, and that the ministry is working to reach an agreement with the Region to synchronize the rollout so that 5G is launched simultaneously across all of Iraq rather than in a piecemeal fashion.
The minister's comments reflect a notably cooperative and constructive tone toward the Kurdistan Region at a moment when Baghdad-Erbil relations are being tested on multiple fronts simultaneously, from the militia disarmament deadline to budget allocation disputes and the broader political negotiations around the formation of the Tenth Cabinet. The telecommunications file, with its potential for a joint simultaneous 5G launch, offers one of the clearest examples of a practical area where federal-regional coordination can produce a tangible shared achievement.