CMC reports +475 M calls during Arbaeen pilgrimage in Iraq

Shafaq News/ The Iraqi Communication and Media Commission (CMC) reported, on Sunday, details regarding the volume of local and international calls and text messages made during the past 40 days, coinciding with the Arbaeen pilgrimage.

According to a statement from the Arbaeen Pilgrimage Central Operations Room, the statistics covered the period from the first day of the Islamic month of Safar to the 20th (August 5-25), focusing on the four holy cities: Najaf, Karbala, Baghdad’s Kadhimiya, and Samarra.

The total number of calls made during this period reached 475,561,955, with Karbala alone accounting for 269,179,348.

The report further detailed that 461,030,781 calls were domestic, with 262,104,810 made in Karbala. International calls totaled 14,531,174, including 7,074,583 from Karbala.

The total number of text messages sent during this period was 185,642,568, with 86,123,436 originating from Karbala.

Of the total messages, 138,067,294 were domestic, with 61,744,310 sent from Karbala. International messages accounted for 47,575,274, including 24,379,126 from Karbala.

The operations room also reported that the total data usage during this period was 23,122 terabytes, with Karbala accounting for 13,784 terabytes.

The authority deployed 550 mobile teams, including 76 in Karbala, to monitor and ensure the quality of mobile network services. They conducted 11,624 quality tests, with 5,231 of these in Karbala.

The report also highlighted that 1,287 mobile cells operated under new frequencies with special licensing, while 112 mobile broadcast stations were activated. Additionally, 219 new fixed towers were installed, bringing the total number of towers covering the pilgrimage to 4,390. In total, 27,652 permanent mobile network cells were operational, with 1,803 towers expanded and 2,538 towers equipped with advanced broadcasting technologies.