National Internet in 6 Months

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Telecom Growth Buoyant

Government plans to set up national internet services in the coming months in a bid to increase the capacity of the country's telecommunications network.

Stating the above to Mehr News Agency on Wednesday, Mohammad Ali Aryanian, deputy director of IT for Telecommunications Infrastructure Company, said the capacity of the existing telecom network will increase four-fold in the next year (the new Iranian year starts on March 21).

According to him, the contractor of the project is setting up the necessary facilities and equipments for the national internet, which will come on stream within six months.

3G Subscribers
The number of 3G subscribers in the Middle East is projected to grow at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of over 40 percent by 2012, says a new RNCOS report.

All the telecom markets in the Middle East have been buzzing with the news of privatization, new licenses, expanded services and investment developments.

High demand for Information and Communication Technology (ICT) products and services is making the region an attractive proposition for the development of ICT industry. Telecom service providers have been upgrading and expanding their infrastructure, with fiber lines being laid and 3G gaining traction in key Middle East countries to make it compliant with the international standards.

As per the research "Middle East ICT Market Analysis", the region is one of the fastest growing places in terms of number of 3G CDMA networks and subscribers, with 65 operators in 38 countries providing 3G services to mobile users.

The research predicts that the number of 3G mobile subscribers will grow at a CAGR of over 40 percent by 2012, an important development that should not go unnoticed by Iranian managers.

The research has also found that demand for electronic security is also surging in the Middle East in line with the strong development of ICT industry. The report analyzes opportunities for the security software developers and security equipment manufacturers to provide secure business solutions to industries, corporate and households.

The countries covered in the report include Turkey, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Qatar, Bahrain, Oman, Jordon and Iran. The report also states that various ICT segments will help clients understand and evaluate the present and future scenario of PCs, Internet, mobile and fixed telephony and broadband in the Middle East countries.

Attractive Market
Iran's telecom sector is expected to grow to $12.9 billion by 2014, a CAGR of 6.9 percent, according to a new report from Pyramid Research.

The report has provided a profile of the country's converged telecommunications, media and technology sectors based on proprietary data from Pyramid's research in the Iranian market.

Dearbhla McHenry, senior analyst at Pyramid Research and author of the report, said from a revenue aspect, Iran is one of the most attractive markets in the Middle East region, considering its size.

By the end of 2009, it was the fourth-largest market in the region at $9.2 billion and is expected to grow to $12.9 billion by 2014 at a CAGR of 6.9 percent.

"The country's comparatively late introduction of competition means that the market is still in a rapid-growth phase, with the data segment in particular developing very fast in terms of number of users and amount of use," McHenry said.

"We expect data's share of total revenue to double over the next five years, reaching $4.5 billion by 2014; important drivers of new growth in both segments will keep the split between fixed and mobile services steady over the forecast period."

For mobility, McHenry noted that Pyramid anticipates the launch of a third operator to boost adoption and revenue. On the fixed side, the launch of new WiMax operators will mark the beginning of Iran's broadband era.

Telecom Confab
The 2nd Iran Telecom Conference 2010 (ITC2010), which was held on January 24-25 by Teyf Group in Tehran, was a turning point in the country's telecom sector with the widespread presence of all key players and senior managers.

The viewpoints of the invited speakers and the distinguished panelists demonstrated the great potential of the telecom sector in Iran as well as the huge investment opportunities for foreign firms.

The main points stated in this prestigious event included: changes in the views of the IT managers; presence of new players in the IT sector; new faces from different organizations; as well as attendance of foreign analysts, consultants and managers.

Indeed, Iran's telecom sector has experienced substantial changes, the most important of which are selling the shares of the telecommunication Company of Iran at the stock market, privatization of the company, holding the 3rd Mobile License Tender to provide 3G services as well as issuing WiMAX licenses.

By Ghanbar Naderi

© Iran Daily 2010