TEHRAN – Iran is among the three countries with the highest growth rate in Information and Communications Technology (ICT) in the world, Mohammad Javad Azari-Jahromi, the minister of information and communications technology, has said.

According to the World Telecommunication Organization, Iran is among the first three countries with the highest growth rate in information technology in the world over three consecutive evaluation periods, he stated.

Referring to the ICT development, he said that 4.6 percent of the GDP is related to ICT, which is significant. The figure was about 2.7 percent in 2018 but experienced significant growth with the efforts of the Iranian youth.

In terms of ICT infrastructure development in the mobile network, Iran is one of the countries with the most access, while the United States, with a larger population than Iran, does not have 100 percent broadband coverage in the rural areas, he stated.

Thanks to the good investments made for broadband development, today, about 98 percent of the Iranians have access to broadband, and on the other hand, a large part of our country’s roads are connected to this system, he explained.

In terms of quality and price indices, Iran has one of the cheapest broadband in the world, he further noted, adding, Iran is ranked second in the region in terms of cost-effectiveness of broadband, which is also appropriate in terms of the ratio of broadband prices to people's incomes.

“In the Sixth Development Plan (2016-2021), we were tasked to connect 80 percent of the villages with 20 households or more to the national information network,” he stated, adding, “so far, over 95 percent of the country's villages are connected, but we are trying to reach full coverage.”

He also highlighted that Iran is the leading country in the region in terms of the number of internet subscribers.

Azari-Jahromi also said that the pandemic changed the education system, making it dependent on the internet network, and despite various challenges, we could make it, however, some students in deprived areas still do not have access to the internet and electronic devices.

“We intend to solve this issue, but it requires a high amount of budget, even more than the total annual budget of the Ministry of Communications, so establishing justice might take more time,” he also noted.

“Currently, 76,000 schools are connected to the national information network, and more than 95 percent of them are receiving service free of charge,” Azari-Jahromi concluded.

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