Minister of Communications and Information Technology Mahmoud Vaezi said the first phase of the National Information Network will be officially launched this week.
“The official launch has been planned at the same time as Iran’s Government Week that begins on August 23,” Mehr News Agency also quoted Vaezi as saying.
The minister made the statements on Thursday in Shiraz where the province’s latest telecoms projects were inaugurated.
Vaezi said Fars Province has various potentials, noting that the expansion of bandwidth has been noteworthy in the province and the number of Internet users has also increased sharply.
“Bandwidth will increase fourfold by 2017,” he said.
He added that the ministry had invested 4.7 trillion rials ($135 million) for developing the telecoms sector in the province.
“The number will increase to 10.2 trillion rials ($292 million) by the end of the current Iranian year (March 20, 2017),” he said.
“The development of optical fiber network is also progressing according to the plan for the province. Some 1,000 kilometers of optic fiber will be laid in the province by the end of the tenure of President Hassan Rouhani’s administration.”
Vaezi noted that by the time of the next presidential elections in Iran, all Iranian villages with a population of more than 15 families will have Internet access.
“In order to ensure that the project proceeds as per the plan, 85% of the infrastructures have been prepared,” he said.
Ardabil
During a trip to the northwestern province of Ardabil last week, the minister said 14 communications and information technology projects worth 1 trillion rials ($30 million) will be inaugurated.
He highlighted the fact that the Telecoms Ministry has set out to provide the latest Internet services to the public and prepared a comprehensive plan.
“One of the major priorities of the government is to develop telecoms services in underdeveloped areas and the ministry has devised several plans to meet the needs of these areas,” he said.
Vaezi added that a telecoms and information technology research center will be set up in Namin, a county in Ardabil Province, which will create several in the area and assist with the sales of innovative products.
“The research center could also help offer the products in international markets such as Azerbaijan and Russia,” he said.
He noted that the expansion of 3G network is also one of the ministry’s priorities in Ardabil.
A plan devised in this regard stipulates that the cities of Parsabad, Khalkhal and Meshkinshahr will receive 4G coverage.
The minister said the optic fiber network in Ardabil is now 950 kilometers long, noting that the data transfer network in the province has also been expanded.
“The Internet bandwidth capacity in the province has jumped from 8 Gbps to 60 Gbps. Nearly 38 4G Internet sites have been set up in the province,” he said.
“By the end of the current Iranian year (March 20, 2017), 1.7 trillion rials ($485 million) will be invested in the province in the area of ICT and to develop the 3G and 4G network.”
Vaezi noted that 188 villages in Ardabil currently have access to high-speed Internet and 746 more villages will receive access by March 20, 2017.
