Telecommunications Company of Iran has signed two agreements with local Internet service providers Mabna Telecom and AsiaTech, based on which the state-owned company will share its networks with the two private firms.
TCI signed a similar agreement with Shatel and HiWeb in early February. Last July, the Communications Regulatory Authority issued a mandate called ‘Wholesale Bitstream Access’ obliging TCI to share its infrastructure with private companies.
Director of the local telecom giant Majid Sadri said, “In order to comply with the ombudsman’s July directive, TCI has developed a system for sharing its network with private entities,” ICTNA reported.
Bitstream access refers to the situation where a telephony company installs a high-speed access link to customers’ premises and then makes this access link available to third parties to enable them to provide high-speed services to customers.
After signing the agreements with Shatel and Hiweb, Sadri was quoted by the local media as saying, “TCI is open to collaboration with all fixed communication service providers.”
Other companies likely to sign similar agreements with TCI are Pars Online, Saba Net, Psihgaman, Helma Gostar and Afra Net.
Commenting on the necessity of opening up the ISP market, CRA Director Hussein Fallah said, “The July regulation is aimed at boosting competitiveness and enabling local firms to use the telecom infrastructure to the full extent.”
