Iran Launches Massive Project to Expand Fixed Fiber Network

The Iranian telecoms ministry has launched a major project to connect over 20 million homes and businesses to the high-speed fixed fiber network in the country. In a ceremony on Monday, telecoms minister Issa Zarepour ordered the launch of 500,000 new fixed broadband plugs in two large cities of Mashhad in east and Qom in central Iran. Zarepour, who took over as minister in August, had earlier said that the current Iranian administrative government is determined to finish the massive project that normally takes 10 years until its terms ends in August 2025. “Optic fiber should reach 20 million homes and business places to ensure there is a stable, high-speed and safe network in place,” the minister was quoted as saying by the official IRNA news agency. Telecoms ministry figures show there were only 540,000 fixed fiber plugs in Iran in March 2021.

Reports and studies carried out in recent years suggest that Iran has been slow in developing its fixed internet infrastructure despite a major progress that has taken place in the country’s mobile data services. Head of Iran’s telecoms regulator said on Monday that Iran will invest more in fixed fiber assets to both expand the coverage of internet in the country and to ensure it has a higher quality.
Sadegh Abbasi Shokouh said that Iran aims to connect more than 80% of its households to the broadband internet with an average speed of 26 megabit per second. Abbasi Shokouh said a 10% increase in broadband penetration rate in Iran could lead to 5.1% surge in gross domestic product (GDP) and a similar increase in workforce productivity in the country. He added that doubling the speed of broadband internet will increase Iran’s GDP by another 3%. - Press TV