The Speedtest web service in its latest survey on internet speed worldwide said the speed of fixed internet in Iran declined in July while mobile internet increased compared to the previous month.
Latest data released by www.speedtest.net show Iran's internet speed (according to the median index) decreased one place in fixed internet while mobile internet increased by two spots from the previous month.
The website uses two median and mean (average) indicators to measure the ranking and quality of internet worldwide.
The mean index is the average, but the median is the middle point of statistical data. In the report, both mean and median indicators have been used to examine the internet situation.
Currently, Speedtest global rankings are based on median download speed “to best reflect the speeds a user is likely to experience in a market”.
According to the median index, Iran’s fixed internet speed ranked 146th (out of 182 countries) while mobile internet speed was at 70th place (out of 140 countries).
Median fixed internet download speed is now 10.21 Mbps, upload speed is 1.58 Mbps and latency is 29 milliseconds. This is while the median mobile internet download speed is 27.74 Mbps, upload speed is 10 and latency is 30 milliseconds.
According to Speedtest, the median global mobile internet download speed is 30.78 Mbps, upload speed is 8.55 Mbps and latency is 29 milliseconds. On fixed internet, the download speed is 67.25 Mbps, upload speed is 28.50 Mbps and latency is 10 milliseconds.
Up and Down
Iran's mean mobile internet speed increased by two ranks last month, while mean fixed internet speed decreased by 8 ranks.
At present, Iran's mobile internet ranks 77th, descending 3 ranks, while fixed internet ranks 147th, unchanged compared to the previous month.
The mean mobile internet download speed based on this index is 40.45 Mbps, the upload speed is 13.11 Mbps and latency is 36 milliseconds. On fixed internet, the download speed is 22.61 Mbps, the upload speed is 13.56 Mbps and latency is 42 milliseconds.
According to the site, the mean global mobile internet download speed is 75.78 Mbps, upload speed is 14.17 Mbps and latency is 36 milliseconds. On fixed internet, the download speed is 136.37 Mbps, upload speed is 75.95 Mbps and latency is 18 milliseconds.
Comparing the upload, download and latency of Iran's internet with the global mean index shows that in the field of mobile internet, Iran was in the middle of the table, but in the field of fixed internet, there is a long way to go to catch up with the global average.
The government in Tehran has launched a fiber-optic project to improve the quality of fixed internet and intends to eliminate the backlog of internet registration by expanding facilities for users and operators.
Under 10 Mbps Speed for 63% of Fixed Internet Users
The latest regulatory report on the status of information and communications technology in Iran, based on numbers of the last month of the fiscal year that ended in March, indicates that internet speed provided to users was far from desirable.
This is while figures show that mobile and fixed internet penetration rates increased during the period, the Communications Regulatory Authority (CRA) reported.
According to the CRA, in that month, 63.5% of fixed internet subscribers had access to speeds of 10 megabits per second or lower while that of fixed internet penetration hit 13%.
As per guidelines of the Supreme Council of Cyberspace, by fiscal 2025-26, almost 80% of Iran households should have access to fixed internet with an average speed of 25 Mbps, according to the news portal Peivast.com.
Fixed broadband has 9.93 million subscribers in Iran and 18% of them get speeds of 2 Mbps or lower. The total number of fixed internet subscribers (home and commercial users) has reached 11.05 million subscribers.
Fixed internet penetration rate barely increased by 0.19% during Feb. 20-March 20 compared to the previous fiscal month.
The state-owned Telecommunications Company of Iran (TCI) is still the most popular fixed internet company in Iran and accounts for nearly half the subscribers but does not provide Wi-Fi and TD-LTE services.
With regard to mobile internet, the penetration rate has reached 114%.
A noteworthy point in the new CRA report is the rise in the number of 3G subscribers of two companies -- Hamrah-e-Aval and Rightel.
In sum, the number of mobile broadband subscribers increased by 4 million to 95.8 million compared to the previous month.
According to the regulator, the number of Rightel subscribers reached 5 million by March 20, but its broadband subscribers remained below 4.2 million. This means nearly 994,000 Rightel subscribers do not use mobile internet. Iran's third biggest mobile phone operator does not offer 2G SIM cards.
