Page 66 - IRANRptSep22

ran’s broadband subscription population coverage at 128% says regulator
Value of Iran’s mobile phone imports drops by fifth amid rumours of blocked shipments
websites. The bill is not supposed to have progressed beyond a parliamentary committee review.
Authoritarians around the world have learnt lessons from Iran on how to throttle or cut internet connectivity to a city or region, or even nationwide, during sensitive times such as anti-regime protests.
In September last year, an Iranian Statistics Center report concluded that 45mn Iranians are still members of Telegram and send 15bn messages on the social network every day, Radio Farda noted.
Broadband subscriptions in Iran, a country of 85mn, numbered 108.87mn in the three months to late June, according to figures from Iran’s telecoms regulator CRA. The population coverage of 128% was up by one percentage point since the previous quarter.
The subscriptions included nearly 97.84mn mobile broadband subscriptions and more than 11mn fixed lines.
The figures also showed that the number of registered SIM cards in Iran stood at 208mn. Biggest mobile operator MCI had 75.5mn active SIM cards. Second largest MTN Irancell had more than 60.7mn active SIM cards and third largest Rightel nearly 5.3mn.
CRA’s information also showed that fourth generation (4G) internet coverage had expanded to nearly 36,000 base transceiver stations (BTSs) sites in Iran, while 3G internet was available via 40,000 BTS sites and 2G via around 45,000 BTS sites.
The value of mobile phone imports into Iran dropped 19.1% y/y to $970mn in the first four Persian calendar months (March 21-July 22), according to the country’s trade association of mobile phone importers (CPMA).
There is rife speculation on the market that officials are limiting imports of high-end smartphones. Given South Korea’s compliance with US sanctions 0n Iran—which to Tehran’s irritation has resulted in the freezing of tens of billions of dollars owed to Iran for oil imports in Seoul bank accounts—there are hardliners in the Islamic Republic who appear to have persuaded the government to squeeze the market share of South Korean electronics giants such as Samsung. Rumours that restrictions are also applied to imports of technology from American big-hitters including Apple Inc have long been in circulation. Such import-throttling moves would also assist officials driving for more industrial localisation and related import replacement market strategies, while they would also be in line with pressure to take a cautious approach to expending Iran’s FX revenues on what can be deemed non-essential goods. The statistical data also showed that in the assessed period, short of 4mn mobile phones were imported into Iran versus more than 6mn in the same four-month period a year ago. Nearly 6% of the exports were mobile phones that cost more than $600.
Authorities have not publicly acknowledged the existence of the rumoured limitations on imports, but mobile importers in the country of 85mn have pointed to difficulties they have encountered in obtaining government-subsidised FX to pay for cargoes.
66 IRAN Country Report September 2022 www.intellinews.com