Iran’s Deputy ICT Minister has said that the government is looking to boost internet connections in the country to a minimum 20Mbps within the next five years. Barat Ghanbari says that the scheme will be backed by an investment of USD15 billion, half of which will go to the state-owned Telecommunication Company of Iran (TCI). A report from Mehr News Agency quotes Ghanbari as saying that internet services in rural areas will be expanded via the deployment of 4G LTE mobile technology. For many years most residential internet connections in Iran were limited to a maximum speed of 128kbps, with the cap only lifted in September 2014.
Meanwhile, TCI is to forge stronger ties with Kazakhtelecom, with the two telcos signing a memorandum of understanding (MoU) covering the development of new services and the opening of new international traffic routes between the Middle East, Asia and Europe. The two countries intend to link their respective networks either via a direct trans-Caspian cable or overland through a neighbouring country.