Page 81 - IRANRptSep22

Iran starts roll out of 5G mobile connectivity
Iranian Netflix clone launched by MCI
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.
Netbox, a startup Iranian video-on-demand service, has been launched by Mobile Communications of Iran (MCI), Digiato has reported.
The platform was created by graduates of Sharif University of Technology, sometimes referred to as the "MIT" of Iran. The graduates received funding from MCI as part of an initial round of venture capital investment.
MCI’s investment arm announced in March that it would invest Iranian rial (IRR) 750bn ($2.77mn at the free market rate, $17.8mn at the official exchange rate) in two startups.
Mohammad Mehdi Abbaskhani, CEO of the investment arm, said that more than 200 business plans from companies in fintech, tourism, media, health and education were reviewed by his staff this year alone.
Netbox has entered a market with stiff competition. However, foreign streaming services like Netflix and Amazon Prime are blocked in Iran.
One streaming platform already in operation on the domestic market is Filimo. It said in March that it was expanding its reach to other countries with Persian speakers, including Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Afghanistan.
MCI, despite being the largest and oldest established mobile provider in Iran, has struggled to keep up with its main rival, MTN-Irancell, co-owned by South Africa’s MTN, which has invested huge sums in recent years into tech and e-commerce.
9.2.5 Metallurgy & mining corporate news
Iran’s Mobarakeh Steel Company hit by parliamentary claims of a $3bn corruption scandal
Largest Iranian steelmaker Mobarakeh Steel Company has been hit by the release of the findings of a three-year parliamentary investigation that include allegations of corruption amounting to $3bn and tied to the administration of former president Hassan Rohani.
After the release of the findings, the Iranian stock exchange suspended trading of semi-public company Mobarakeh’s shares. President Ebrahim Raisi, meanwhile, quickly called for the firing and charging of implicated company personnel. The claims of large-scale corruption come at a difficult time for the regime, with growing public discontent at the country’s economic turmoil and other grievances, such as prolonged water shortages, increasingly seen in street demonstrations. Graft is widely viewed as systemic in Iran and the Raisi administration is under significant pressure to tackle it head-on.
81 IRAN Country Report September 2022 www.intellinews.com