Page 63 - IRANRptMay21

Iran starts roll out of 5G mobile connectivity
market. MTN-Irancell already operates several 5G mobile masts in the capital. The opening ceremony for the new 5G capable site is part of a push by the The Iranian government is keen on the rolling out of 5G as part of plans to bring business and government services online to reduce overall operating costs. However, Minister of Information and Communications Technology Mohammad-Javad Azari Jahromi sometimes draws the ire of conservative factions in pushing ahead with 5G plans in ways they deem irresponsible in terms of security, cultural, religious or other sensibilities.
Opening up the super-fast internet in the country could weaken the state’s grip on the media, even when it comes to news and programming from Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), the state-owned media giant which controls swathes of news output in Iran.
Iran’s two largest mobile network operators, MTN-Irancell and Mobile Communications of Iran (MCI), have started a rollout of a fifth generation (5G) mobile network in Tehran, ITMEN magazine has reported. MTN-Irancell’s first 5G mast is seen at the Communication and Information Technology Research Institute located on Kargar street in central Tehran. It was placed there in cooperation with the telecommunications ministry. Other areas of the capital will see 5G antennae installed gradually over the next few months by both operators.
The rollout forms part of a push by the government to spearhead the digitisation of state services and grow Iran’s technology sector despite the coronavirus (COVID-19) crisis now into its third wave in the country.
MCI said it was in the process of localising equipment needed for the 5G rollout.
Several new 5G masts are to be put into operation in Tehran and other cities in the next few weeks.
5G in Iran is being introduced in cooperation with unnamed Chinese telecommunications companies; Huawei equipment is being used, according to reports on the ground.
On November 2, Mehdi Akhavan Bahabadi, CEO of MCI, said at a launch introducing 5G mobile applications in the country that several deals between higher education institutions and the operator have been signed to develop apps locally.
Bahabadi referred to a memorandum signed with Sharif University Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences to bring forward health-based apps and other 5G-based technologies.
Vahid Shahmansouri, deputy director of the 5G roll-out at MCI, said "We are operating in three important phases. Firstly, there is the field of localisation, which includes the current and future needs of mobiles with various technologies, including 2G, 3G and 4G,” he said.
63 IRAN Country Report May 2021 www.intellinews.com