The Iranian government measures for developing ICT infrastructure in underdeveloped areas have provided 35,519 villages, accounting for 90% of the total, with access to internet services through the National Information Network.
According to the Communications Regulatory Authority, most Iranian villages were totally deprived of internet connections in 2013 when President Hassan Rouhani began his first tenure, but gradually increased to 18,000 in 2017, IRNA reported.
CRA data suggest that since 2017, the number of rural areas connected to the National Information Network has seen a 43% increase, such that an average of 20 villages were connected to NIN per day.
NIN is an independent network whose content is locally accessible and compatible with Islamic values.
The linkup with National Information Network has improved the quality of life in villages, of education in schools and of treatment in medical centers.
In addition, micro banking services have been facilitated through 1,250 ATMs installed in rural areas, which are also expected to increase to 2,250 by the end of the current Iranian year (March 2021).
According to CRA, Iran had over 82.6 million broadband internet subscribers until June 21, 73.3 million of which used mobile internet connections and 9.2 million were connected to wired internet.
The data show that the internet service penetration rate has reached 98.33%, registering an 8.33% increase compared to the same day of last year.
CRA also reported that mobile phone network connection was available for 4,500 villages around the country in 2013. Currently, 37,492 villages (95% of the total) enjoy the connectivity.
According to the Ministry of Information and Communication Technologies, all rural areas are expected to get mobile phone network coverage by the end of the current Iranian year (March 2021).
The number of mobile phone subscribers in Iran was over 121 million by June 21, CRA reported.
As a result, the mobile network penetration rate has also increased from 142.07% last year to 144.14%.
Landline telephony access has also risen from 30,000 villages in 2013 to 31,597 (80% of the total) at the present time.
The expansion of ICT coverage is a follow-up of the ICT Ministry’s plan to provide all villages with over 20 households with access to speedy connections by March 2021.
These efforts are in line with the Universal Service Obligation plan, proposed by the ICT Ministry, for providing broadband internet access to rural areas.
Officials believe that increasing the access of users, corporations and organizations to the internet can increase economic productivity and promote social welfare. Internet access not only increases traditional business activities and interactions, but also helps build novel industries and businesses.
However, different parts of society have different levels of connectivity access, which is also referred to as the communication gap.
Communication Justice
According to ICT Minister Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi, the expansion of ICT infrastructure and internet access is aimed at realizing “communication justice”, which is a part of “social justice”.
The ICT minister earlier noted that the development of communication and internet access has helped online education, startups, the banking system and news broadcasting through social media to grow significantly.
“The infrastructure proved its usefulness, especially in the past several months when the Iranian people have been struggling with the outbreak of coronavirus,” he added.
Announcing that internet traffic within the country has increased by 150% in the past several months, the minister said, “Given the increasing dependency of lives on ICT technologies, exclusion of underdeveloped areas from the rapid growth of technology means condoning social inequality and injustice.”
Jahromi noted that all these measures are aimed at bringing about a digital revolution, the results of which will help shape a digital economy.
“Besides creating job opportunities, the move will prepare the ground for the young generation to play their part in the domestic economy,” he said.
In late August 2019, President Hassan Rouhani said that in terms of convenience, all efforts are being made to fill the gap between urban and rural living conditions.
Villages and metropolises should be developed in tandem, for which extensive efforts have been made to provide all villagers with potable water, energy, health and communication services.
Experts in the field say that by bridging the communication gap between cities and villages, migration to cities will decline.
