Iran's first operator, Hamrah-e Aval, otherwise known as Mobile Communications Company of Iran, has released its annual report on subscribers for the last Iranian year (ended March 19, 2016). Currently, 6,910 broadcasting towers of MCI provide 3G coverage while 307 antennas extend 4G services in 470 Iranian cities.
The company posted a 3.7x increase in its Internet data usage compared to the previous Iranian year.
MCI’s EPS (encapsulated post-script is used for fourth generation Internet) witnessed a 0.5% growth compared with the previous Iranian year, while DPS (design and prototyping services) registered a 128% growth compared to two years ago (ending March 2014), ISNA reported.
MCI is currently the top mobile operator in Iran, the Middle East and South Asia in terms of subscribers. The operator also stands at 15th place globally in terms of users, which accounts for 77.9 million SIM-card holders.
The company added seven million subscribers in the past 12-month period. Of this number, 560,000 new additions were contractual and 6,480,000 were pay-as-you-go.
The company still wins out in terms of market share and currently has an 80.2% penetration rate in Iran by selling 59% of SIM cards, TechRasa writes.
The main operator says it also offers 100% 2G coverage in urban areas, including residential islands like Kish and Qeshm in the Persian Gulf.
It boasts 86.9% rural coverage (meaning low-population areas) in the country. In addition, 96.5% of the country’s urban population enjoy MCI coverage, comprising 1,242 cities and towns.
In addition to local coverage, MCI said contract subscribers enjoy global roaming with 270 operators in 112 countries and destinations worldwide. However, overseas efficiency has been unstable at best, with countries like Turkey not supporting the agreements in place.
