Internet to Get Faster and Cheaper in Iran

Iran’s internet bandwidth will increase to 12,000 gigabits per second until the end of the current Persian year, according to a statement by Iran’s Minister of Communications and Information Technology. Internet prices will also decrease in the next couple of weeks by 15 percent as promised by the government.

In a recent statement, Mahmoud Vaezi, Iran’s Minister of Communications announced that the internet bandwidth in Iran will increase up to 12,000 gigabits per second by the end of the current Persian year. According to Vaezi at the time when the current government came to office in 2013, the internet bandwidth in Iran was 624 gigabits per second. Since then, internet speed in the country has reached to 4,000 gigabits per second until March 2016.

Vaezi added that the future plans of Iran’s Ministry of Communications are much broader than the budget considered by the government. “[Ministry of Communications] intends to get help from the private sectors, banks, and investment holdings in order to reach its goals and not face interferes,” announced the Minister.

Vaezi also noted that after the JCPOA agreement and the removal of sanctions, foreign investments could increase which would eventually be a chance to help compensate the shortages.

Iran’s Minister of Communications recently promised that the internet prices would decrease by at least 15 percent in the next couple of weeks. Last year, the government decreased the broadband rates by 20 percent but the price reductions weren’t as significant as it should have been for the customers.

Internet usage in Iran increased heavily in the recent years as the mobile internet became more accessible to users. Currently, 3G and 4G internet are provided by the main three mobile operators in Iran. Latest statistics from February 2016 show that over 460 cities have access to 3G and over 160 cities have access to 4G internet.

Although the mobile internet is still considered expensive in Iran, mobile operators have been offering a variety of internet data packages and competitive prices to gain more users. To find out more about the state of the internet and the prices in Iran read this article.