Basmaya complex residents demand better internet service

BAGHDAD, October 5 — Residents of the Basmaya residential complex in Baghdad say they hold a local internet provider responsible for poor service coverage and want the company’s contract cancelled.

Internet users across southern and central Iraq have faced slowed or disrupted access, prompting Iraqi Minister of Communications Hayam Al-Yasiri to call out the EarthLink telecommunications company on Tuesday for chronic service delays and sluggish internet speeds outside the Kurdistan region.

Jawad Khudair, a representative of a building in Basmaya, told 964: “The internet service has been very poor for months, and the problem is that the Investment Commission does not respond to complaints. We hope that there will be a solution to this problem as soon as possible.”

Resident Nibras Haider said service fees are not commesurate with actual access. “The internet is weak and often disconnects, and it does not justify the amount we pay to the company. We always rely on 4G service through our phones instead of the company’s service.”

Mohammed Iyad, another resident, said: “The IQ company in Basmaya monopolizes the provision of the internet in the complex and does not allow any other company to compete with it. We are planning to protest against the company to demand its departure or improvement of its services.”