Past

Regional shutdown

MMS

Kurdistan

The Kurdistan Regional Government in Iraq ordered Internet services to be suspended on the morning of 6 September 2025 between 6:30 and 7:45 local time (+3 UTC). This regional shutdown is part of a series during the public school exams, which are expected to occur every Saturday, Monday, and Wednesday until 8 September.

  • Total Duration 1 hour

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Related documentation

The affected networks include KNET — Kurdistan Net (AS206206), Newroz Telecom (AS21277), IQ Online (AS48492), and KorekTel (AS59625). Together, these networks have around 20% of the overall Iraqi market but serve the vast majority of the population in the Kurdistan region.

Local media reported that the Ministry of Transportation and Communications of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) was asked by the Ministry of Education to suspend access to the Internet during the examinations in the public interest and to prevent cheating in the second round of examinations. The shutdown includes access to the Internet and Multimedia Messaging Services (MMS) between 6:30 a.m. and 7:45 a.m. local time.

A table issues by Kurdistan regional government in Iraq with 8 exams scheduled between 23rd August and 8th September 2025.
Kurdistan High School Exam Schedule, second round 2025

Other supporting information

Cloudflare Radar data shows drops in Cloudflare traffic in key networks operating mainly in the Kurdistan region in Iraq, namely Kurdistan NET (KNET).

A graph from Cloudflare Radar indicating shutdowns in Kurdistani networks since 23 August.
Graph from Cloudflare Radar indicating shutdowns in Kurdistani networks since 23 August.