Baghdad: The Communications and Media Commission (CMC) announced on Saturday that more than 77 million calls and 8.5 million text messages were recorded in the holy city of Karbala during the days of Ashura.

According to Iraqi News Agency, the CMC issued a statement highlighting stable indicators for mobile phone services in the holy province of Karbala during the first ten days of the month of Muharram. This was achieved through the mobile phone networks operating in Iraq, reflecting the readiness of the infrastructure and the stability of network performance during the peak of the pilgrimage.

The CMC detailed that the total number of calls reached 77,173,384, including 76,986,086 local calls and 187,298 international calls. Meanwhile, the total number of text messages reached 8,591,693, consisting of 7,527,620 local messages and 1,064,073 international messages. The number of local subscribers was reported to be 18,406,494, with an additional 123,980 subscribers using the international roaming service. This data underscores the significant movement and demand for communication services during the visit season.

The CMC confirmed that these results were achieved following the implementation of an integrated operational plan for the Ashura season. This plan included the deployment of 63 technical and field teams and the conduct of more than 5,548 field tests. Additionally, the infrastructure of mobile phone networks was strengthened by deploying 81 mobile stations, adding 308 fixed towers, and operating more than 7,000 communication cells. These efforts contributed to maintaining the stability of services despite the substantial increase in usage rates.