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AT&T Roaming Active in Iran

AT&T Roaming Active in Iran
AT&T Roaming Active in Iran

US-based AT&T Wireless has reportedly signed a deal with Iran’s third operator RighTel to offer roaming services to Americans visiting Iran, according to a report from Tehran.

The New York Times’ Thomas Erdbrink reports that several Iranian-Americans visiting the country have reported that their cell phones are now working on roaming via Iran’s newest operator RighTel.

The AT&T deal is the first US deal to be signed with an Iranian network operator since the nuclear deal between Iran and six world powers.

Accordingly, both websites now list their roaming prices. RighTel states that to use their roaming service while in the United States it will cost 19,000 (0.54 cents) rials a minute while sending an SMS will cost 9,000 rials (25 cents).

To use AT&T’s roaming service while in Iran will cost $3 per minute, while US customers can buy packages for data.

The report notes that one Iranian-American visiting his family in Tehran said, “At first, I thought it was an alarm. I couldn’t believe what was happening. It was San Francisco. A colleague wanted an update on a patent case.”

Currently no other US operator has signed roaming deals with Iranian companies, but with the signing of the AT&T-RighTel deal, others may be following suit.

Other US operators include Verizon and Sprint T-Mobile. The latter may be the next to sign a roaming agreement due to it being owned by Germany’s Deutsche Telekom.

 

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