ICT reports 100% surge in fiber optic rollout
Minister of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) Sattar Hashemi announced on Saturday a 100% increase in fiber optic network expansion in recent months, stressing that improving public access and service quality must be central to the country’s development agenda.
“In the current administration, fiber optic expansion is being pursued with an economic approach and a focus on improving service quality for subscribers,” Hashemi told IRNA.
He said the ministry’s strategy prioritizes the economic dimension of fiber deployment, meaning subscriber uptake and the capacity to absorb services across different models must be rigorously measured.
“Incentives provided to telecom companies for fiber optic expansion are only applicable when high-quality connectivity is delivered to the public,” Hashemi added, underscoring that quality of service remains a non-negotiable condition for accessing government support.
The remarks reflect Tehran’s intensified push to modernize its digital infrastructure amid broader economic pressures and international sanctions.
Separately, Davoud Zareian, deputy head of communications, public relations and international affairs at Iran’s Telecommunication Company, said on Thursday that the second phase of the country’s strategic “swap” project — replacing copper networks entirely with fiber optic cables — has begun under a five-year plan.
He said demand for efficient use of information and communications technology is rising daily, while copper-based networks with maximum speeds of 16 megabits per second are no longer sufficient.
“In the fiber optic development plan, it will be possible to deliver speeds of up to 1,000 megabits per second to home subscribers, although most customers’ current needs are between 70 and 200 megabits per second,” Zareian said.
He added that converting copper to fiber forms the backbone for rolling out fifth-generation (5G) mobile services and supporting other operators. “Many of MCI’s [Mobile Communication Company of Iran] sites and those of other operators will be connected to the fiber optic network through this project,” he noted.