Baghdad opens Iraq’s first satellite ground station

Shafaq News- Baghdad

Iraq opened its first satellite communications ground station, or teleport, in Baghdad on Sunday, a step Communications Minister Mustafa Sanad said would strengthen the country's "digital sovereignty" and lay the groundwork for Iraq to operate its own satellite.

The station is designed to work with satellites in geostationary orbit. The project had been in development for years, Sanad said at the opening, adding that Iraq could not operate its own satellite without a ground station.

He urged security agencies, ministries and private companies to route their satellite traffic through the new station rather than rely on foreign infrastructure outside national control, as Iraq moves toward the next phase of its space sovereignty project.

Wael al-Khalidi, deputy chief executive of Commercis, the group behind the project, said the site would combine an internet exchange point, a data center and satellite communication links, similar to projects the company has carried out in Germany. It will provide high-speed internet and satellite broadcasting, carry live television feeds and connect satellite networks to ground networks, he said, adding that Iraq's location could make it a hub linking networks between Asia, Africa and Europe.

The project is part of a wider push to turn Iraq into a regional data corridor. In September, Iraq signed an agreement with Qatar's Ooredoo to carry data from Gulf countries to Europe across its territory.

Sanad also said about 1,400 stalled projects in his sector could be completed once administrative obstacles are removed.