Evaluating and enhancing internal networks for an institution to meet E-government demands: a case for fiber optics and wi-fi by using OPNET

To support digital transformation and the increasing demand for reliable, scalable, and secure communication infrastructures in e-government initiatives, the Iraqi government has upgraded legacy institutional networks and expanded broadband and fiber-optic deployments. However, many public institutions continue to rely on poorly planned wireless LANs or inadequately structured fiber-optic networks, leading to limitations in performance, scalability, security, and quality of service. This paper presents a measurement-informed simulation study of two Iraqi institutional networks: The Information and Communications Technology Company (ITPC), which primarily depends on wireless LAN infrastructure, and the Ministry of Industry and Minerals, which operates a fiber-optic backbone. Real-world baseline measurements are first collected to characterize the operational state of the existing networks. Based on these observations, multiple redesign scenarios are developed and evaluated using OPNET Modeler 14.5 to analyze traffic behavior, throughput, and delay under realistic application workloads. For each network, several redesign scenarios are examined. Scenario 1 represents a structured Ethernet redesign using conventional device deployment, while Scenario 2 improves performance by replacing hubs with switches and upgrading selected links. Scenario 3, proposed as the optimized solution, employs device regrouping, reduced switch count, and higher-capacity backbone links to achieve a more scalable and efficient architecture. Simulation results show that, for ITPC, Scenario 3 increased throughput to approximately 9 Mbps while reducing average delay to 0.0000019 s, compared with 5.8 Mbps and 0.00020 s in the existing Wi-Fi network. For the Ministry of Industry and Minerals, Scenario 3 consistently outperformed other scenarios across key applications. Overall, the results demonstrate that carefully structured and optimized network architectures can significantly outperform poorly planned wireless and fiber-optic deployments. The study highlights the importance of systematic design and simulation-based validation in developing secure, scalable, and cost-effective network infrastructures for e-government, particularly in developing countries.