Digital Reach

[

] 173

T THE FIRST

phase of the World Summit on the Information

Society (WSIS) in Geneva, His Excellency Mr Mohammad

Khatami, President of Iran, spoke of “the historical suffer-

ings of human beings caused by ‘distances’ and ‘separations’”

reflected in different languages and fields of knowledge. Noting

massive changes in communications, he described entry to the

information society as “a new opportunity for the entire world

population.”

The second phase of WSIS continues this focus on using infor-

mation and communication technology (ICT) to bridge the digital

divide, enabling countries and individuals to access the infor-

mation they need when they need it and compete in global

commerce. ICT is becoming more accessible to many groups of

people, and is being used to address the digital divide between

different countries, and between individuals within them.

ICT has become the fastest-growing scientific technological

sector of society, and the most important. Across the world,

governments have been urged to boost investment in ICT, to make

the benefits it promises accessible to all levels of society in all

countries. Through proper investment and building secure foun-

dations for ICT services, a reliable platform can be established that

will enable the prosperity and development of all countries.

President Khatami said: “In order to ease and reduce the suffer-

ings and historical distances, we should place the empowerment of

human beings at the forefront of our efforts.” Thus, Iran aims to use

ICT to empower all individuals. It has worked to lay practical and

consistent groundwork for ICT services. The availability of ICT has

become a more urgent matter to address, and several programmes

and ICT development and restructuring plans are underway. This

commitment is reflected in the recent renaming of the Ministry of

Post, Telegraph and Telephone (PTT) as the Ministry of ICT.

Two inter-organizational councils have been established: the

IT Supreme Council and the Space Council, backed by two ICT-

related organizations, the Organization for Space and the

Organization for Communications Regulations. In line with the

renaming of the Ministry of ICT, three new subsidiaries have been

launched. The Mobile Company, Data Company and Backbone

Company each have special areas of focus within ICT, enabling

improvements to be made in each area. In order to see the work

of Iran to bridge the digital divide, it is worth taking a brief look

at the development of the Iranian telecoms industry.

Telecommunications in Iran

Iran’s telecoms system developed slowly at first, with a telegraph line

between Tehran andChaman Soltanieh in 1857. The line was extended

to Zanjan, Tabriz, and Julfa two years later, and was connected to the

Russian telegraph network as it expandedworldwide until Iran became

a member of the International Telegraph Union in 1869. The relevant

department of this union was promoted to the Ministry of Telegraph

in 1876, as the use of telecoms services became more prevalent.

The service expanded in 1890, with the first telephone line in

Iran. But the network’s development only began in 1941 when

the Allied Forces left the country and Iran bought the network of

new phone lines they had laid. Progress continued with a move

to an automatic system, long-distance and satellite capabilities,

and the establishment of the Iran Telecommunication Research

Centre before the Telecommunication Company of Iran was set

up in 1971.

Although the war between Iraq and Iran impeded network devel-

opment, over 351 000 lines were established between 1979 and

1984, connecting 1 363 villages to the national network. Optic fibre

cables arrived during the 1980s, and in 1991 the Data

Communication Company of Iran was commissioned to set up

phase one of the Iran Public Data Network (PDN), or Iran Pac.

In 1996, rapid progress was made as provincial telecoms

companies began to operate. Mobile phone networks were

expanded to 35 cities, to support over one million mobile phones.

Ninety cities were connected to the national data network and

the VSAT network was expanded by up to 70 per cent.

Alongside these domestic achievements, TCI has worked exten-

sive to export technical and engineering services, and has shared

its experiences with other countries within the framework of

consulting and contracting agreements. It carried out all phases

of the Trans Asia Europe optic fibre cable project in Turkmenistan.

A solid base for inclusion

Iran’s focus on developing its ICT systems has put it among the

first five countries to achieve a growth rate of over 20 per cent

for development in telecommunications. The country hosted the

High Level Asia-Pacific Conference for the WSIS in Tehran from

31 May to 2 June 2005, to define a regional course of action for

building a people-centred, inclusive and development-oriented

information society in Asia and the Pacific.

The participants of the Tehran conference reaffirmed the need

for joint efforts to ensure “universal, inclusive and non-discrim-

inatory access to ICTs,” and emphasized the importance of both

international and regional cooperation alongside national efforts

in building an inclusive information society.

One important aspect of creating an inclusive digital world is

the need for partnerships between governments, the private sector,

and civil society from both developing and developed countries,

and from organizations on regional and international levels. The

Tehran delegates recognized the role of such partnerships as vital.

This principal of inclusion on a large scale in order to furnish

global inclusion on an individual level, wherever that individual

is located and however much money they have, has featured in

the development of Iran’s ICT infrastructure. Building on the

foundations laid by countries like Iran in developing a solid ICT

infrastructure, it might at last be possible to open up ICT to every

population, no matter how remote.

Laying foundations for digital inclusion

Telecommunication Company of Iran