The biggest event for the country’s telecommunication sector in 2014, according to market players, has been that the monopoly in providing high-tech mobile services ended.
The Telecommunication Infrastructure Company (TIC) is the country’s responsible body for creating, developing, managing, organizing, supervising, maintaining, and implementing the main telecommunications networks. The TIC had given the right for running the first third generation (3G) services a newly-established company known as Rightel, which is owned by the country’s Social Security Investment Company.
But in summer, the monopoly finished and other operators are now allowed to provide 3G, 4G, along with other future technologies, Arash Karimbeigi, Public Relations Manager at MTN-Irancell, told Financial Tribune at the 15th Telecom 2014 expo.
Karimbeigi said MTN-Irancell is now the second mobile network operator with near countrywide coverage that has been permitted to offer 3G and 4G services. As a company that reached a 47% market share in the local mobile telecommunications sector in 2011 and 2012,MTN-Irancell currently provides 42 cities across the country with third generation (3G) services. By the end of the current Iranian calendar year (March 20), as many as 200 Iranian cities will receive MTN-Irancell’s Mobile Broad Band (MBB) services, said Karimbeigi, describing it as a record.
MTN-Irancell, 49% of which is owned by the South Africa-based MTN Group, is offering several new services to send and receive e-mail. It is also developing new platforms for making bank payments. The operator is working on expanding its channels for sales in order to open up opportunities to everyone, particularly by providing fast access to its network. MTN-Irancell offers its corporate clients VPN, APN, and mobile newspaper services, which allow them to broadcast their bulletins or other documents through the MTN-Irancell system. Newspapers and other media organizations are also able to utilize this mobile technology. During Iran Telecom 2014, MTN-Irancell had an exclusive hall to showcase its latest services including its main data service, or Vitrin, which is a platform with a variety of content. Through Vitrin, customers can have access to a wide range of wallpapers, ringtones, and music.
During the past five years, mobile phone ownership has been constantly increasing and it was up 129% in 2012. Such large demand by the Iranians, many of whom have multiple SIM cards from different mobile operators, was a strong motive for MTN-Irancell to offer its most recent services and products through Hall 27 of the exhibition as well as a number of outdoor stands, revolving around its motto of “Experience Digital Life”.
With high demand for fast internet connection in Iran, MTN-Irancell and Hamra-Aval (The First Network), the country’s number one mobile network provider, are competing for the already saturated market.
