iQ Group (also known as iQ) is an Iraqi technology conglomerate founded in 2005. The company was initially established as a fibre-optic internet service provider in Sulaymaniyah, Iraq.[1]
History
Founded in 2005, iQ began by building fibre-optic topology and cable routes across the country[2] to be able to provide internet services in Iraq.
iQ Group provides fibre-optic broadband services and wholesales capacity services to a range of customers, including businesses, NGOs, schools, hospitals.[3]
In 2020, with the arrival of the new CEO, Asoz Rashid, iQ group has begun to work in new areas.[4] In 2023, they launched a partnership with Tencent.[5] Additionally in 2023, they launched their IP-Transit Project: the Silk Route Transit.
iQ Group's Silk Route Transit is a terrestrial fibre-optic infrastructure IP-Transit project that provides an alternative route to connect Europe and the Middle East together.[6]
Conceptualised in 2010, the Silk Route Transit consists of over 3500 kilometers of fiber-optic cable[7] laid across Iraq.[8] Its multilayer fiber-optic network supposedly provides the shortest alternative terrestrial route to connect Europe to Asia.[9][10]
