The 17th International Exhibition of Telecommunications, Information Technology and Innovative ICT Solutions, better known as Iran Telecom Innovations 2016, concludes in Tehran today, September 28.
The event which opened on September 25 is hosted by the Ministry of ICT, the Communications Regulatory Authority (CRA), the Telecommunications Infrastructure Company (TIC) and the Telecommunications Company of Iran (TCI).
Financial Tribune’s correspondent, present at the event reported that Iran’s first mobile communication company, Mobile Telecommunications Company of Iran (or Hamrah-e-Aval or MCI) had a dominant presence at the event.
MCI
With two dedicated halls and covering an area of 3,000 square meters, MCI was the most noticeable company present at the event. At the opening ceremony, MCI unveiled several new services, including Public Wi-Fi and the 4.5 generation of mobile Internet services.
Iran’s Minister of communication and Information Technology, Mahmoud Vaezi was present at the ceremony. The company tested the fifth generation (5G) of mobile Internet services successfully in his presence.
The Tribune’s correspondent was able to interview the director of MCI’s Long Distance Services (LDS), Hossein Dehqan. The official said: “MCI has recently launched a companion application for its subscribers named Hamrah-e Man,” (which is translated as My Companion) for Android and iOS. Users can manage their subscription accounts, pay bills and change their Internet service scheme through the application.
The official also addressed the unveiling of MCI’s new 4.5G Internet service also known as LTE Advanced and said that customers can test the difference between the three generations of mobile Internet services that the company provides in the expo.
LTE Advanced is the next wireless upgrade, beyond LTE locally better known as 4G. He added: “Essentially, 4.5G is faster, better in user experience and highly efficient in spectrum use. Average user download speeds should be two to three times more than 4G. This suggests real download speeds on LTE Advanced could be 14 to 21Mbps [verses 7 to 12 Mbps over early LTE/4G].”
The company has installed a robot in MCI’s main hall which people were able to control via company’s 3G, 4G and 4.5G Internet mobile services.
Dehqan also announced that the company has established MCI Customers Club, and subscribers by joining the virtual club and being active on it can score points that can eventually be exchanged for services or discounts.
Public WiFi and Packages
One of the other hot topics in the event was public Wi-Fi services. MCI and Tehran’s Telecommunication Company are the only companies offering this service and they both have launched it at the opening ceremony of the exhibition.
In the MCI’s main hall Xiaomi had a dedicated pavilion showcasing its smartphones. MCI has recently signed a deal with the Beijing-based company offering its SIM cards in a package with Xiaomi products.
Several major companies from India, China and the EU were also present. Many of them said that they are negotiating with Iran’s ICT public and private sector, but none of them were willing to enclose any information about either their former or upcoming deals.
Telecoms Minister Speaks
Iran’s Minister of Information and Communications Technology, Mahmoud Vaezi was present at the first day of the event.
He said, “Iran’s private sector has played a significant role in establishment of Iran’s National Information Network (NIN) and the state vastly relies on the private companies for the expansion of it.”
He said that boosting e-governance is on top of the administration’s agenda. Since President Hassan Rouhani took office in August 2013, the government has vastly invested in the ICT sector and several projects have been launched. Iran’s national landline services have been expanded significantly.
He also addressed the presence of foreign companies in Iran and said “France‘s largest operator, Orange is holding preliminary talks to buy a stake in Iran’s main telecoms network, MCI.” This is the first time a major European company has expressed interest in such a deal.
Symposium Kicks Off
The Eighth International Symposium on Telecoms is being held in Tehran on September 27-28 at the Research Center of Telecoms and Information Technology.
The telecoms conference comes amid a frenzy of interest by international companies as 24 new telecom firms have been given licenses to provide Mobile Virtual Network Operator services.
Local and foreign specialists will be giving speeches on future developments of the industry in the country, IRNA reported on September 26.
During the event a total of 410 articles from ten countries will be researched and discussed, 167 of which have been accepted by the organizers of the event, Mahmoud Kamarei, the head of the event’s scientific committee said in a press conference on Sunday.
Some of the foreign contributors are from the US, Canada, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Italy, Singapore, Germany and Ireland.
The official also noted that the submitted papers are on 24 different research topics in telecoms and contemporary science.
He added that 29 specialized conferences will be held and eight speeches delivered.
Some of the main purposes of the symposium are sharing the latest findings in the field, scientific brainstorming and idea sharing.
The event will hopefully help eradicate the problems hindering the growth of the ICT sector both in terms of theory and on industrial levels, the offical said. “It also looks to motivate more universities and researchers to take on this field.”
