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00:00:09In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. Hello and good evening, dear viewers of the news channel.
00:00:13Tonight's special news interview is about
00:00:16the status of the country's fiber optic network
00:00:19development, and we are honored to have Mr. Fatahi in the studio,
00:00:23the honorable Deputy Minister of Communications and the Head of the Regulatory
00:00:27and Communications Organization.
00:00:30I extend my greetings, good evening, and a warm welcome. In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful. I extend my greetings
00:00:34to you, sir, and also to all
00:00:37the dear viewers who are watching this program.
00:00:41We are at your service. Thank you. Well, the fiber optic network, which is one of the important programs of the Ministry of Communications,
00:00:44regarding fiber optics itself and
00:00:48the development of this network and the difference it has with different generations,
00:00:51if you agree, please explain it initially
00:00:54so that we can see how much this network has developed in terms of these
00:00:58applications. Well, I would like to say that,
00:01:02in any case, depending on the type of consumption
00:01:05by users and the amount of data and
00:01:08content, based on the existing technologies,
00:01:12when the trend is increasing,
00:01:16old infrastructure will no longer be able
00:01:19to meet the needs of this large number of users. If you observe
00:01:23that in every generation of development in the field
00:01:26of communications, both fixed and mobile, initially,
00:01:29a definition of the field of operation is made. That is,
00:01:31initially, the goal, I would say,
00:01:35of consumption and the type of operation is determined, and then, through that,
00:01:38the development of generations occurs. Well,
00:01:42it's like a container and its contents. That is, you
00:01:45practically need to prepare the appropriate container
00:01:49for each content. Our past generations of fixed communications
00:01:53have been based on copper cables,
00:01:56and practically, for the past 100 years, in this country, copper has been
00:02:00the main basis of fixed
00:02:03communications, and we have not had
00:02:06a change of generation and technology in the communication infrastructure. This
00:02:10event that is happening now under the title of the, I would say,
00:02:14national fiber optic project is practically
00:02:18a change in infrastructure and a change in the communication medium
00:02:21from copper cables to fiber, which, well,
00:02:25has many advantages and
00:02:28diverse benefits.
00:03:05In many parts of the country, even in many cities, these
00:03:09are stolen, and their re-provision and recovery
00:03:11become problematic. The next issue is energy consumption.
00:03:14You see, because old telecommunication transmission
00:03:18systems and equipment
00:03:21based on copper have
00:03:24high energy
00:03:27consumption, and we almost reduce
00:03:30energy consumption by up to 80%
00:03:34with new fiber optic communication infrastructure. In terms of
00:03:38space and human resources and other
00:03:42important issues, the most important
00:03:46issue is increasing speed and quality.
00:03:48That is, in some cases, we increase
00:03:51speed and
00:03:54quality by up to 100 times when using
00:03:58infrastructures and communications.
00:04:03has happened, and we are forced to make
00:04:06this change for the development of our fixed communication
00:04:10network. We are changing
00:04:13our communication generation from copper infrastructures to fiber optics,
00:04:16and its security is also very good. That is,
00:04:20I would say that there are also advantages
00:04:23and benefits in these areas, one of which is, well, these are secondary benefits,
00:04:27that the issue of security and so on is also better
00:04:31secured than the previous infrastructures. And what
00:04:34services can a subscriber receive
00:04:38on the fiber optic network? See, because
00:04:41of the capacities that are created
00:04:44through the development of fiber optics,
00:04:48practically, as I told you, you have more than
00:04:51100 times
00:04:54the bandwidth available to users.
00:04:57Well, now there are
00:05:00applications, for example, based on artificial intelligence applications,
00:05:04which are mostly content-based
00:05:07applications. These definitely need more
00:05:10bandwidth than what
00:05:13the country's copper network provides
00:05:16today. They need it, and now,
00:05:19because of the point I mentioned to you, the obsolescence of old
00:05:23systems and old communications, we
00:05:26may not be able to provide more than seven
00:05:30to eight megabits per second of capacity
00:05:33in communications, for example, ADSL based
00:05:37on copper cables. But we can easily
00:05:41and these new applications, these
00:05:52emerging technologies that are being used
00:05:55by users today,
00:05:58whether in the field of health, in the field of,
00:06:01I would say, education, all of these
00:06:05can only become widespread and a digital economy can be built upon them
00:06:09and have a market when this capacity
00:06:42and also higher speed and quality is needed for visual
00:06:46and video content. Well, if this is, for example,
00:06:49live streaming that wants to replace
00:06:53nationwide broadcasting, these capacities
00:06:56will definitely help this development of content broadcasting
00:06:59or video broadcasting. That is, in the future, for example, television broadcasting
00:07:03will be over fiber optics. See, even now, cable televisions
00:07:07exist, and networks
00:07:09based on terrestrial capacities exist. But
00:07:13if we want to change the entire capacity of nationwide broadcasting
00:07:17from
00:07:19broadcasting based on radio waves and
00:07:23wireless to terrestrial broadcasting, this definitely
00:07:26requires a high-speed infrastructure based on fiber optics.
00:07:30And since what year did we start the first
00:07:33phase or stage of network development? See, sporadically,
00:07:36anyway, in the past 10 years, projects and
00:07:40programs
00:07:42by the Ministry of Communications in the field
00:07:46of fiber-based communications
00:07:50have sometimes been a combination, for example,
00:07:53communication infrastructures combining
00:07:57copper cables and in some places,
00:08:01the use of fiber infrastructure. However, specifically,
00:08:04since 2023, the project that has been defined
00:08:07as the national
00:08:09fiber project
00:08:14in the country and during the 13th government has been an important step, which
00:08:18has begun and has been specifically pursued.
00:08:21It was almost one of the main approaches
00:08:24of the Ministry during that period. In the 14th government,
00:08:28from the beginning, this project was placed on the agenda of the Ministry
00:08:31of Communications as a main necessity,
00:08:35but with changes, which I will explain to you now, we had a change
00:08:39in the approach to implementing the project, and along with that, we started
00:08:43a very large national project at the country level,
00:08:46and that is the issue of migrating from copper cables
00:08:50to fiber. See, sometimes you define
00:08:54a fiber optic project and fiber development, and there,
00:08:57along with the existing copper cables,
00:09:01fiber-based connections are also designed and implemented.
00:09:04But what is defined today as the migration project or the "swap" project,
00:09:08its implementer
00:09:10is also the Telecommunication Company of Iran. And
00:09:13in one of my previous programs last year, a special
00:09:17news interview that coincided with the inauguration of this project,
00:09:21I told the dear viewers that
00:09:25all copper cables will be collected. That is, practically, the entire communication
00:09:28infrastructure of the country will be converted to a fiber optic-based communication infrastructure,
00:09:32and practically, copper will no longer have a place in this design
00:09:36and implementation. This project, these
00:09:39two national projects, both the fiber project and
00:09:42the "swap" project, which is called migration, are specifically
00:09:46and especially at the top of the Ministry of Communications
00:09:49and Information Technology's infrastructure development projects.
00:09:53Was that the change you mentioned? That change in approach
00:09:57to the H project is a change in approach.
00:09:59I would say that, in any case,
00:10:03at the beginning of the project implementation, first, we needed to create
00:10:07nationwide fiber coverage. That is, practically, because this coverage
00:10:10was not sufficient in the country,
00:10:14excavation was necessary to be done.
00:10:18The implementation of fiber routes was done, and active and
00:10:21inactive network equipment had to be installed. We interpret
00:10:25this as coverage, meaning the possibility
00:10:28of connection for users is provided. That is, within a specific radius,
00:10:32a node, a point of presence
00:10:35of telecommunication companies, which are, I would say,
00:10:38UNSP licensed companies from the Regulatory and Communications Organization,
00:10:42should have this point of presence. Now, any subscriber who
00:10:45needs this fiber connection should submit their request,
00:10:49and this connection should be established within a specific time. The approach that
00:10:53we adopted
00:10:56in the 14th government was to convert the coverage that had been created
00:10:59into connections. That is, in order for us
00:11:03to finally create a balance and,
00:11:06I would say, a proportion between the created coverage and
00:11:10the experience
00:11:13of fiber-based communication, which is high-speed and high-quality communication,
00:11:16the approach was towards connection. That is, we modified
00:11:20the laws and regulations in such a way that
00:11:23practically
00:11:26users, subscribers, and people would come towards
00:11:29establishing this connection, which, thank God, we have had good success with. So, it's not strictly necessary for them to request it, right?
00:11:33No, this request must come from the user,
00:11:36but the point is that we are providing
00:11:40incentives to communication operators for,
00:11:43I would say, creating
00:11:46connections. We have given special attention to that section, because, as you know, the funding sources
00:11:49for this network, because, in any case, at the beginning of the project, this project was not
00:11:53an economic project and, in any case, had its own
00:11:57special costs. A good decision was made that, in any case,
00:12:01part of its resources are being funded by the government.
00:12:04Well, these resources, now, how they should be designed
00:12:08and explained, at the beginning of the project, it was more focused on
00:12:11implementing, I would say, that part of the coverage that
00:12:15I mentioned was necessary to be created.
00:12:18But in addition to that, we have slightly shifted these regulations and,
00:12:22I would say, these facilities towards connections, so that if operators
00:12:25can attract users and
00:12:29encourage them to come and, I would say, request, go
00:12:33to their homes, inform, and make announcements,
00:12:37as I mentioned, we have had good success. We have had a significant growth,
00:12:40perhaps more than 500%
00:12:43in connections since before
00:12:46this government, and today, more than 2 million connections have been made
00:12:50in the fiber optic sector, and practically, an economic
00:12:54environment is being created for this technology.
00:12:57And when the economy finds its way, practically, users will also receive
00:13:01their desired quality
00:13:03and speed.
00:13:06This can self-sustainingly develop,
00:13:10and in the end, as I mentioned, it is the people
00:13:13who will benefit from the good results of implementing this project,
00:13:16and of course, the users
00:13:19and communication operators who will shape the country's
00:13:23ICT economy.
00:13:43are used. Out of this number, between 6 and 7 million
00:13:46have fixed internet, meaning out of those 17 million connections
00:13:50based on copper cables, they are fixed.
00:13:54For example, how much coverage has been achieved in a place like
00:14:25Tehran or other major cities of the country? For example, do all
00:14:28Tehran citizens, or all citizens of Mashhad,
00:14:32Tabriz, Isfahan, Shiraz, for example, have access?
00:14:35They can access. Regarding the major cities
00:14:38you mentioned, which
00:14:42I will discuss later in my speech,
00:14:45one of the points I want to raise with you and dear viewers is the issue of challenges
00:14:48that this project faces.
00:14:52Currently, specifically regarding
00:14:56major cities, especially Tehran,
00:14:59we do not have good statistics
00:15:02due to, I would say, the lack
00:15:06of excavation permits. Because, as you know, the foundation
00:15:09of fiber network development is based on ground excavation.
00:15:12Where should the permit be? Well, generally, urban
00:15:16management should issue these permits. Of course, we are constantly
00:15:20monitoring and following up on the issue in cooperation with the municipalities of major cities.
00:15:23In other centers and other cities, we also had these problems, but
00:15:27eventually, cooperation took place and the work
00:15:30was accelerated. The question you asked, sir,
00:15:33see, I said at the beginning of my speech.
00:15:37Anyway, we need a generation change in the field of communication infrastructure,
00:15:41and wherever these facilities
00:15:44are provided by urban management and
00:15:47in, now, road administration management,
00:15:51wherever these facilities and preferences happen sooner,
00:15:55the project will practically have better progress,
00:15:59and actually, our major
00:16:02communication problems today are saturation in major cities.
00:16:06See, mobile communications
00:16:09are mostly based on frequency, and this
00:16:13frequency has many problems, both frequency noise
00:16:17and frequency interferences that we have, and also the frequency limitations
00:16:20that we have. These become saturated and full. I would like to tell
00:16:24you that there is a definition of the proportion
00:16:27between fixed and mobile communication consumption in the world,
00:16:30and the main weight of communications is based on fixed communications.
00:16:34Yes, and well, for example,
00:16:37in the world, there is a norm that, for example, 70% of communications are fixed,
00:16:41and the remaining 30% or 80/20%
00:16:44are mobile communications. In our country, this
00:16:48situation is completely reversed. Well, the reason is
00:16:51clear: the lack of adequate quality of fixed communication,
00:16:55which has been one of the main drivers of implementing the fiber project,
00:16:58that constantly, when this project progresses and develops,
00:17:02this ratio must change, and we have set
00:17:06targets
00:17:25Well, today, this percentage of proportionality in large cities and major cities and provincial capitals is actually problematic, and users
00:17:28complain about the quality of communications
00:17:31mostly in these cities with higher
00:17:35population density. Therefore, it is hoped that the honorable
00:17:38municipalities and honorable city management will, in this regard, For example, is there a problem with the municipality now, because there isn't
00:17:42very deep excavation? These are completely specific
00:17:46excavations, and there are some
00:17:49different interpretations of the laws that have been approved,
00:17:53especially the law of the seventh development plan
00:17:57of the country, the seventh five-year law. There,
00:18:00it is clearly stated in Article
00:18:0365 of the program law that all
00:18:08executive agencies
00:18:10of the country and public agencies
00:18:14are obliged to provide the necessary cooperation
00:18:17in the implementation of this project, and the
00:18:20facilities, ground routes, and other requirements that
00:18:24this project has, the legislator has, I would say,
00:18:27foreseen there. It has been approved by the parliament
00:18:30and they must fully support this project based on
00:18:34the approvals and tariffs of the regulatory commission.
00:19:07you have definitely been approached or at least seen or dealt with people who
00:19:11definitely need a fiber optic connection because of their specific
00:19:14application. That is,
00:19:18for example, because the distance
00:19:21from the user's home to the telecommunications center, if it exceeds
00:19:24a certain limit, then the copper-based connection is no longer effective. That's why
00:19:28the user uses mobile capacity. Well, mobile, as I said, is an issue
00:19:31related to frequency,
00:19:34and this frequency spectrum of the country
00:19:37becomes problematic, and in fact, the development of the mobile network,
00:19:41that is, the economics of mobile network development, is not such
00:19:44that you necessarily want to have 100% coverage.
00:19:48And for this reason, we are currently facing
00:19:51saturation in mobile network
00:19:54consumption. Users have
00:19:57problems there, and on this side, I would say that we cannot
00:20:01develop. Therefore, we are pursuing
00:20:04this issue in cooperation with the honorable municipalities of major cities
00:20:08and wherever we have this problem, and of course, we are using all legal tools
00:20:12to be able to bring this project
00:20:16to fruition sooner. The penetration rate is measured
00:20:19based on the connection point. That is, the unit with which you
00:20:23measure is the connection point. Yes, it is both the number of connections and the amount of coverage that
00:20:26has been created, meaning the possibility of connection. We have currently
00:20:29made more than 50% progress
00:20:33in the project nationwide
00:20:36in terms of the possibility of connection. If a user wants
00:20:40to connect, and regarding
00:20:43what I mentioned, because, in any case, the issue of connection itself
00:20:47has been a new issue, and of course, it does not have a specific number
00:20:51all over the world. That is, the amount of coverage that
00:20:54is converted into connection, now, the adoption
00:20:58rate or the take-up rate, which is actually a term that exists,
00:21:02that percentage of connection coverage that is converted into connection, meaning coverage means that you have done
00:21:05cabling and infrastructure,
00:21:09and only its connection, for example, happens point-to-point to the user.
00:21:12This no longer involves excavation and municipality. These also require excavation in some
00:21:16terminal points, but they also use other capacities, for example, cables.
00:21:26In some areas, which we call points of presence, points of presence where communication operators reach there and
00:21:30create that coverage, until it reaches the user's home,
00:21:33there are some discussions. You now have a significant difference
00:21:37between the amount of coverage and the connection, right? That is, your connection statistics versus coverage.
00:21:41Of course, I would say that not all coverage should be converted into connection.
00:21:44The number I mentioned is a percentage, for example, between 15 and 30-35%.
00:21:48This is the norm that
00:21:50happens, and well, the difference is greater now. It is greater now, because, as I said, the connection
00:21:54approach is
00:21:58now a new approach. This is to convert that coverage into connection,
00:22:01and of course, there has been very good growth in the past year and a half. We have reached more than
00:22:052 million connections from about 30,000 to 50-60 thousand
00:22:08connections before this government. We now have 50%
00:22:12network progress and 2 million connections. Yes, 2 million connections.
00:22:15Well, what is the final goal, meaning if it reaches 100%, how many million
00:22:19connections? According to the seventh development plan law
00:22:22of the country, we must create 20 million coverage,
00:22:26or the possibility of connection. That is, the number mentioned in the
00:22:30law is 20 million connection possibilities.
00:22:34Well, now, how much of this will be converted into connection depends on many
00:22:38different conditions. One of them, as I mentioned, is the economic feasibility
00:22:41for the user, the user's need,
00:22:45I would say, the quality and competition that
00:22:48communication operators
00:22:50will provide, and practically, the collection of copper infrastructures, all of these are a set of conditions
00:22:57that, I mean, this is no longer in our control or the communication operator's. We might
00:23:00create this 20 million coverage across the country, but really,
00:23:04the culture of, for example, converting a connection
00:23:08from, that is, a user wanting to convert their connection from copper cable-based
00:23:12to a fiber-based connection, may not yet
00:23:16exist in that area or space. It's just a price challenge.
00:23:37However, some users, and I'm telling you today, due to the problems we have in the field
00:23:40of mobile communication development, it is definitely necessary,
00:23:44and there is no other way. Its costs are high,
00:23:47meaning its subscription cost is high. Fiber.
00:23:57it's on the user's side, the cost of providing
00:23:59the fiber modem is there, which, yes, in any case, in the past year,
00:24:03the price of these connection terminals, or these user modems,
00:24:06has increased by more than 100%. Well,
00:24:10can we give a number
00:24:13approximately, for example, how much does a user who is currently
00:24:16covered and wants to connect have to pay? It depends on the tariff that
00:24:20the user... See, there is a competition now. Among the things I said we can facilitate,
00:24:23we have prepared some plans
00:24:27using the resources we have in the Fiber Development Fund,
00:24:30and it is our legal obligation to use them for the implementation of this project,
00:24:34so that we can provide incentives
00:24:37to communication operators through which
00:24:41operators can attract users.
00:24:45For example, one of the models is to provide
00:24:47connection services.
00:24:50Large internet
00:24:53packages, for example, are offered
00:24:56in installments for users. Well, these are some models that
00:24:59our communication operators are now defining, and in some
00:25:03areas, but in some areas, no, they determine
00:25:07the initial amounts for
00:25:10users. But we monitor how much of the incentive
00:25:14that has been provided to operators
00:25:17has actually been included
00:25:20in the subscribers' cost. This is a very important point
00:25:24that needs to be constantly monitored, and if this does not happen,
00:25:27then those resources have not been used in a targeted
00:25:31way in this work. Currently, the process
00:25:34is like this: We have considered
00:25:37facilities and financial incentives
00:25:40to constantly stimulate the market and constantly stimulate
00:25:44the operator to connect
00:25:48more users every day.
00:25:59coverage must be created. Its active
00:26:01network equipment must be purchased. Most of this, well,
00:26:05part of it is imported, but a very good part of it has been localized.
00:26:09I would say that now the fiber
00:26:12production industry has been established
00:26:15in the country, the modem production industry has been established in the country
00:26:18and has become economical. These have also created a cycle of employment
00:26:22and economy alongside it, and I would say that
00:26:25from a certain point onwards, this project will become economical
00:26:29and practically, copper cables will be completely
00:26:32collected, and
00:26:36people will fully, God willing, use the capacities of the fiber optic network.
00:26:39You didn't mention the cost now. At today's prices, if someone is
00:26:43covered and wants to connect, how much initial cost
00:26:47will they have to pay for a request and then, as I said, it depends on
00:26:51the package model that the operator is defining.
00:26:54See, in the migration project, I will tell you and dear viewers this:
00:26:57In the migration project, where the Telecommunication Company of Iran practically
00:27:01forcibly collects copper cables and fiber optic-based
00:27:04connections are created, if users do not want internet access,
00:27:08they will have their old
00:27:12telephone connection. Of course, that connection will then be based
00:27:15on fiber optics and will be a VoIP connection.
00:27:19That connection will not be the old copper-based connection that requires
00:27:23an initial quality
00:27:26modem. No, I'll tell you this now, because I'm mentioning
00:27:30it for the information
00:27:33of our dear people, no cost will be collected from subscribers there.
00:27:37It should not be collected for anything,
00:27:40for example, if the telephone connection migrates from copper cable
00:27:43to fiber, meaning it is converted,
00:27:46in our old terminology, the cable is converted from copper to fiber,
00:27:50then, according to the approvals of the Regulatory Commission,
00:27:52the Telecommunication Company of Iran
00:27:56will not collect any fees from users,
00:27:59and if there is
00:28:03any issue where a fee has been collected from users in the conversion
00:28:06project, our monitoring systems, our 195 system, are ready to respond.
00:28:10Should you perform the conversion with the user's
00:28:13request or not? No, this
00:28:16is the development of the Telecommunication Company of Iran. This is happening neighborhood by neighborhood,
00:28:20center by center. Well, this is also included in that 50%
00:28:24coverage. This is with that coverage.
00:28:27However, if a user
00:28:31needs internet,
00:28:34whether in the H project where they request it, or in the
00:28:37conversion project where it becomes fiber optic-based, and now they want internet,
00:28:41the modem cost and the
00:28:43fiber cabling cost inside the building
00:28:46are collected, which have different
00:28:49amounts. Before this, from each subscription,
00:28:532 million, for example,
00:28:56now, the amount I'm telling you, before last year,
00:29:00that is, in 2025, these numbers have increased,
00:29:10and I will also tell you this point: it still depends on the type
00:29:13of modem that the user wants
00:29:16to use. From now, the numbers that are currently available start
00:29:20from 4 million Tomans for a modem and higher. Our utmost effort
00:29:23is, our utmost effort is that the resources
00:29:27we have, the government resources that we are spending on this project,
00:29:31these should be directed towards, for example, the modem manufacturer inside
00:29:35the country, with the use of these resources, or the communication operator
00:29:39with the use of these resources, to be able
00:29:43to offer better incentives and promotional packages
00:29:46to the people and not want to collect the entire final price from the user.
00:29:50And of course, we have monitoring indicators for this
00:29:53and the commitments of operators are constantly monitored
00:29:57in project control meetings, and if a communication operator
00:30:01cannot fulfill their commitments, I would say that
00:30:04they will be subject to penalties
00:30:07and the monitoring tools that we have in
00:30:11the Ministry of Communications and the Regulatory Organization We are, but right now, with the internet
00:30:15I'm using, the constant complaint is that our internet is expensive
00:30:18and low quality. This means the speed
00:30:21and everything, the speed is not acceptable at all, and the cost
00:30:25is high. Well, these regulations, these supervisions
00:30:28exist even now, but people are not
00:30:31satisfied. What guarantee is there in fiber that this won't
00:30:35happen? Now, its speed, the quality is actually the technology
00:30:38itself. In terms of price, the complaints of users that exist
00:30:42are focused on this quality. That is, after all, issues
00:30:45related to price, and I would say that if the costs
00:30:49are proportionate to the appropriate quality, users will definitely have
00:30:53the necessary satisfaction. That is, our principle in the systems
00:30:56I mentioned, our complaint system and systems