Iran has announced an ambitious project to connect more than 20 million homes and businesses to the country's high-speed fixed fibre-optic network.
The telecoms minister ordered the launch of 500,000 new fixed broadband connections in two major cities: Mashhad in the east and Qom in central Iran.
According to local media reports, Zarepour, who took over as minister in August, had earlier said that the current Iranian administration was determined to complete a major project that would normally take 10 years by the end of its term in August 2025.
Reports and studies conducted in recent years have shown that despite progress in providing mobile data, Iran has been slow to develop its fixed internet infrastructure. According to Ministry of Telecommunications data, only 540,000 premises in Iran will have access to fixed fibre by March 2021.
By contrast, Iran's immediate neighbours across the Gulf of Oman already have competitive fibre services between service providers Awasr, Ooredoo and Omantel, albeit serving a much smaller population and area. In fact, Ooredoo Oman announced this week the arrival of its fibre-optic home internet service in Lizeg in the province of Samer and parts of the city of Amerat. The north-eastern coastal town of Saham is expected to join them at the end of this month.
Residents in these areas can now enjoy "great value" high speed services starting at 29.4 omira ($76.50) per month, the operator said.
Speeds of up to 1GB are advertised, plus a range of benefits, including unlimited data, a 10% discount on international calls, unlimited domestic airtime and free modem and installation.
