Editing Communications in Iran (section)

==Overview==
{{See also|Demographics of Iran}}
The government runs the [[broadcast media]], which includes three national [[radio]] stations and two national [[television]] networks, as well as dozens of local radio and television stations. In 2000 there were 252 radios, 158 television sets, 219 [[telephone]] lines, and 110 personal computers for every 1,000 residents. [[Computers]] for home use became more affordable in the mid-1990s, and since then demand for access to the Internet has increased rapidly. In 1998, the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications (renamed [[Ministry of Information and Communications Technology (Iran)|the Ministry of Information & Communication Technology]]) began selling [[Internet]] accounts to the general public. In 2006, the Iranian telecom industry's revenues were estimated at $1.2 billion.<ref>[http://www.iran-daily.com/1385/2681/html/focus.htm Iran Daily – Economic Focus – 10/09/06] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090715180251/http://www.iran-daily.com/1385/2681/html/focus.htm |date=July 15, 2009 }}</ref> By the end of 2009, Iran's telecommunications 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.<ref name="voice-quality.tmcnet.com"/>

The Fourth Five Year Economic Development Plan has proposed the following key benchmarks for 2010: 36 million fixed lines; 50% penetration rate for mobile phones; establishment of reliable rural ICT connections and 30 million internet users. Given the recent developments of the industry, the objectives are very likely to be achieved.<ref name="atiehbahar.com"/>

According to one report,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.budde.com.au/Research/Iran-Telecoms-Mobile-Broadband-and-Forecasts.html |title=Iran – Telecoms, Mobile, Broadband and Forecasts |access-date=2014-03-25 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140318081046/http://www.budde.com.au/Research/Iran-Telecoms-Mobile-Broadband-and-Forecasts.html |archive-date=2014-03-18 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Iran has seen above average growth, specially in mobile subscriber numbers. Mobile data services are available but account for a small proportion of total data consumption in 2014. Some telecom parameters of 2012 & 2014 are as below:

{| class="wikitable"
|-
|+ Subscribers to telecoms services – 2012 & 2014 (millions):
! Sector !!  2012  !!  2014 
|-
| Broadband || 3.1 || 4.5
|-
|  Fixed-line telephony  || 28.8 || 29.3
|-
| Mobile phone || 58.2 || 61.2
|}

More than 23 million Iranians have access to the Internet and over 45 million own mobile phones (2009/10). Tech-savvy citizens use text messages to communicate with friends and browse the Internet — which the government controls in terms of access and speed — for a multiplicity of purposes. Blogging is also immensely popular.<ref>{{cite web |last=Quirk |first=Patrick W. |url=http://www.fpif.org/fpiftxt/6199 |title=Iran's Twitter Revolution |publisher=Fpif.org |date=2009-06-17 |access-date=2012-01-23 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091125075921/http://www.fpif.org/fpiftxt/6199 |archive-date=2009-11-25 }}</ref>

{| class="wikitable"
|-
|+IRAN: Telecoms and Technology Forecast (Market Profile)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.zawya.com/printstory.cfm?storyid=EIU20081001211715204&l=000000080818|title=Economist intelligence Unit (2008)|access-date=2010-06-06|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150904071513/http://www.zawya.com/printstory.cfm?storyid=EIU20081001211715204&l=000000080818|archive-date=2015-09-04|url-status=live}}</ref>
! !! 2002 !! 2003 !! 2004 !! 2005 !! 2006 est. !! 2007 est.
|-
| Telephone main lines ('000) || 12,888 || 15,341 || 16,342|| 18,985 || 19,934|| 20,300
|-
| Telephone main lines (per 100 population) || 19.1 || 22.6 || 23.8 || 27.3 || 28.4|| 28.6
|-
| Mobile subscribers ('000) || 2,410 || 3,449 || 4,271 || 7,222 || 7,583 || 17,799
|-
| Mobile subscribers (per 100 population) || 3.6 || 5.1 ||6.2 || 10.4 || 10.8 || 25.1
|-
| Internet users ('000)|| 3,168 || 4,800|| 5,500 || 7,000 || 7,350 || 7,718
|-
| Internet users (per 100 population) || 4.7|| 7.1 || 8.0 || 10.1 || 10.5|| 10.9 
|-
| Personal computers (stock per 1,000 population) || 75 || 91 || 105 || 105 || 110 || 116
|}

{| class="wikitable"
|-
|+ Pricing (2008)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.zawya.com/printstory.cfm?storyid=EIU20081001211715204&l=000000080818|title=Economist Intelligence Unit|access-date=2010-06-06|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150904071513/http://www.zawya.com/printstory.cfm?storyid=EIU20081001211715204&l=000000080818|archive-date=2015-09-04|url-status=live}}</ref>
! Item !! Price (US $)
|-
| Telephone, charge per local call from home, 3 mins (av) || 0.01
|-
| Personal computer, 512 MB RAM (av) || 1,326 
|}

{| class="wikitable sortable"
|+[[Politics of Iran#Budget|Telecom proposed budget]] (FY 2017)<ref>{{cite web|url=https://financialtribune.com/articles/sci-tech/55397/cuts-and-extensions-in-irans-ict-201718-budget|title=Cuts and Extensions in Iran's ICT 2017/18 Budget|date=13 December 2016|access-date=14 December 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161220150555/https://financialtribune.com/articles/sci-tech/55397/cuts-and-extensions-in-irans-ict-201718-budget|archive-date=20 December 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref>
|-
! Sector !! Estimated $ Value
|-
| [[Ministry of Information and Communications Technology of Iran|Ministry of Communications and Information Technology]] (and affiliated agencies) || 80.1 million
|-
| National Center for Cyberspace || 1.2 million
|-
| [[Iran Space Agency]] || 4.6 million
|-
| [[#"National internet"|NIN]] and telecom infrastructure || 190 million
|-
| Radio transmissions/ creating competitive markets || 120 million 
|-
| E-Government/e-Content for NIN || 80 million
|-
| Infrastructure/ major cyberspace projects || 26.5 million
|-
| [[Iran Computer and Video Games Foundation|Computer game development]] || 0.9 million
|}