The state-backed Telecommunication Company of Iran (TCI) says it plans to spend IRR10 trillion (USD306 million) on infrastructure projects over the two years. 60% of the investment will come in the Iranian calendar year to March 2018, with the remainder to be spent in 2018/19. The Financial Tribune quotes TCI executive Babak Tarakome as saying: ‘The investment will underpin the expansion of Iran’s Optical Transport Network and the Internet Protocol infrastructure.’ A European company will provide part of the investment, he added, without elaborating.
TCI has already signed contracts with Huawei and Fiber Home of China plus Finland’s Nokia to upgrade and expand its fibre-optic infrastructure and install fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) connections. Privately-owned rival operator MTN Irancell has also pledged to invest millions of dollars to roll out fibre networks in major cities via its Iranian Net subsidiary.