Baghdad red tape puts Iraq Internet under Kurdish control

A woman uses wireless Internet at an internet shop in Baghdad November 10, 2012. REUTERS/Mohammed Ameen

DUBAI (Reuters) - 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.