Telecommunication Company of Iran (TCI) has signed wholesale network agreements with two local ISPs, thus allowing its rivals to utilise its fibre infrastructure to carry their own services. The deals with Shatel and HiWEB mark the first time state-backed TCI has opened up its fibre networks to competitors. A report from the Financial Tribune suggests that other Iranian ISPs such as AsiaTech, Pars Online, Saba Net, Psihgaman, Helma Gostar and Afra Net are now likely to come forward to seek similar deals.
Incumbent fixed line operator TCI was ordered by the government last year to share its fibre infrastructure, with telecoms minister Mohammad Javad Azari Jahromi saying at the time that a network rolled out using public funds should be available to all providers, not just TCI. The state-owned firm is deploying a fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) network which will pass some 580,000 households in the first phase of its rollout.