Iraq Communications 2008

Telephones - main lines in use:
1.547 million (2005)

Telephones - mobile cellular:
8.7 million (2006)

Telephone system:
general assessment: the aftermath of the liberation of Iraq in 2003 severely disrupted telecommunications throughout Iraq including international connections; USAID repaired switching capabilities and constructed a mobile and satellite communication facility; landlines now exceed pre-war levels
domestic: repairs to switches and lines destroyed during 2003 have been completed, but sabotage remains a problem; additional switching capacity is improving access; cellular service is widely available in major cities and centered on 3 regional GSM networks, improving country-wide connectivity; there are currently 8.7 million users of cellular services
international: country code - 964; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean), 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region), and 1 Arabsat (inoperative); coaxial cable and microwave radio relay to Jordan, Kuwait, Syria, and Turkey; despite a new satellite gateway, international calls outside of Baghdad are sometimes problematic (2006)

Radio broadcast stations:
after 17 months of unregulated media growth, there are approximately 80 radio stations (types NA) on the air inside Iraq (2004)

Television broadcast stations:
21 (2004)

Internet country code:
.iq

Internet hosts:
3 (2007)