Iran - Regulatory hurdles constrain ICT growth

Iran is ranked 14th this year among resource and efficiency-driven economies on the Connectivity Scorecard 2010, a decline of two places from last year. As with most of its peers, the country has made more progress in the consumer segment than in the business and government categories.

Iran reports the highest fixed-line penetration among resource and efficiency-driven economies on the Scorecard, while mobile penetration is moderate. High frequent internet usage salvages its performance in the area of consumer usage and skills, while a respectable school enrolment rate shores up its business usage and skills scores.

Iran reports low internet and broadband penetration rates, indicating that consumers favor public or shared facilities for internet access. Its performance in the business category is very weak, with low availability of international bandwidth, weak penetration of secure internet servers and poor international traffic levels. Iran does not fare well on the government-related metrics either.

Iran is an attractive telecommunications market in the Middle East due to its size and a very young population but in the wake of regulatory hurdles and strong government control, it remains one of the least developed in the region. A more liberal approach by the government to develop its Information and Communications Technology infrastructure will serve the country well and help it gain a leading position in the region.

Iran Connectivity Performance by Scorecard Component