Page 50 - IRANRptNov19

Conference and Exhibition (QITCOM 2019).
Jahromi reportedly hinted at obtaining a more significant role for Iranian telecommunications firms in Qatar, saying “the current level of economic relations of companies in this [telecoms and ICT] sector is not proportional to the friendly atmosphere [between Iran and Qatar].”
Iran has proved an ally to Qatar in its political standoff with fellow Arab countries led by Saudi Arabia, which is leading a blockade against the small, gas-rich nation.
Qatar's PM announced his country’s full support for the development of relations with Iran in the field of technology and innovation as well as its backing for the growing cooperation between respective ministries.
Themed "Safe Smart Cities", QITCOM 2019 features an edition of the Smart City Expo staged in partnership with FIRA Barcelona.
Attended by over 300 technology exhibitors, 100 young startups and 300 technology experts and entrepreneurs, the gathering is a one-stop-shop for participants to showcase disruptive smart technologies.
A proposal from Iran’s Public Prosecutor’s Office suggests that all virtual private networks (VPN) usage in the country should become legal and that the trading of VPN software should be permitted, ICTNA has reported.
The use of VPNs—which extend private networks across public networks giving internet users online privacy and anonymity—sits in a legal grey area in Iran. But VPNs are used by nearly all internet users in the country to bypass Iran’s tough restrictions on accessing the World Wide Web. Due to the effective banning of VPN software, black market traders sell the use of such disguised connections on a weekly or monthly basis, earning millions of dollars in the process.
The deputy chief of the Public Prosecutor’s Office Javad Javidia said that the use of VPNs was not technically illegal as companies inside Iran use them for work.
He stated that all VPN sales and use should be approved as soon as possible. "There is no explicit law in this regard," he said in an interview on what the country's laws actually state about the buying and selling and use of the circumvention tools. “That is, we do not have a regulation that directly mentions this tool as a crime, but there are some legal provisions in the Cybercrime Act and the Criminal Code that can be relied upon."
The legal change could open the industry to government oversight, but also it could also effectively shut down many operators.
It is estimated that some 64% of Iranians are internet users, effectively more than 46mn people in the country have access by both traditional ADSL and mobile 4G connections.
Another survey, which was conducted two years ago, reported that 61.39% of Iranian families have access to the internet, which indicated an increase in usage.
The Iranian Minister of Communications and Information Technology Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi said Iran’s ‘intranet’, the National Information Network (NIN), now covers more than 30,000 villages, CITNA reported.
NIN was initially launched in 2016 to enable e-government services alongside regular internet connectivity. The network is only available inside Iran. It is spearheaded by bodies such as the Iranian Tax Authority and local municipalities.
Jahromi reportedly said 17,000 businesses based in homes were delivering
50​ IRAN Country Report​ November 2019 www.intellinews.com