Communications in Iran

Iran's telecommunications industry is almost entirely state-owned, dominated by the Telecommunication Company of Iran (TCI). Fixed-line penetration in 2004 was relatively well-developed by regional standards, standing at 22 lines per 100 people, higher than Egypt with 14 and Saudi Arabia with 15, although behind the UAE with 27.^[2] Iran had more than 1 mobile phone per inhabitant by 2012.^[5]

Iran has a population of 80 million with some 56% of Iranians under the age of 25.^[2] In 2008, there were more than 52,000 rural offices, providing Telecom services to the villages across the country. The number of fixed telephone lines is above 24 million, with penetration factor of 33.66%. In 2012, there were 43 million internet users in Iran, making the country first in the Middle East in terms of number.^[6][7][8] As of 2020, 70 million Iranians are using high-speed mobile internet.^{[citation needed]}

Iran is among the first five countries which have had a growth rate of over 20 percent and the highest level of development in telecommunication.^[9] Iran has been awarded the UNESCO special certificate for providing telecommunication services to rural areas. By the end of 2009, Iran's telecom market 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.^[10]

According to the Electronic Journal on Information Systems in Developing Countries (EJISDC), the information and communications technology (ICT) sector had a 1.1–1.3% share of GDP in 2002. About 150,000 people are employed in the ICT sector, including around 20,000 in the software industry.^[11] There were 1,200 registered information technology (IT) companies in 2002, 200 of which were involved in software development. Software exports stood around $50 million in 2008.^[12] Between 2009 and 2020 the Telecommunications market more than doubled.^[13]