Baghdad red tape puts Iraq Internet under Kurdish control

WOEFUL NUMBERS: A woman using a computer at an Internet cafe in Baghdad. Just 9.2% of Iraqis are online, according to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).

DUBAI: Iraq's reliance on Kurdistan for Internet connectivity due to Baghdad bureaucracy has put the northern autonomous region in control of three-quarters of Iraqi networks. 

This runs contrary to what Baghdad had sought from state control of fixed infrastructure within its jurisdiction, and the situation has spooked private investors and neutered Internet development outside Kurdistan, which sets its own rules.