The Iranian government has adopted major legislation to enable the government to take back control of physical hardware and transmission equipment used for the delivery of fixed data services.
The Iranian state-owned news agency PressTV said: "The government of Iran is taking full control of the country’s fixed internet infrastructure by hiving off the network assets of incumbent telco Telecommunication Company of Iran (TCI)."
Iran privatized the control and use of infrastructure meant for the provision of fixed fiber internet after divesting its shares in the Telecommunication Company of Iran (TCI) in 2009.
However, regulators and related government agencies have repeatedly accused the TCI of hampering the spread of fixed services in Iran by creating a monopoly over the fiber and physical infrastructure used for the provision of those services.
Experts believe the TCI and its subsidiary companies have failed to provide enough investment for the expansion of fixed internet in Iran, a country where users mostly prefer fast data services provided by mobile operators.
Iran’s telecoms minister Mohammad Javad Azari said that the bill adopted by the government on Sunday would take back control of major hardware including channels, ducts, and distribution equipment that are currently monopolized by the TCI.
The minister said it took the government some three years to prepare and adopt the bill on renationalization of fixed internet infrastructure in Iran.
