Telephones:
8,991,797 (1997 est.)
Telephone system:
domestic:
25 regional telecommunications authorities created in 1996; these
authorities are responsible for implementing paging services and cellular
systems; microwave radio relay extends throughout the country with the
system centered in Tehran; system is moving toward digitization and
direct-dial capability; 255 long-distance circuits (1999 est.); 366
telephone exchanges (1995 est.); 204,400 microwave channels (1996 est.);
230,000 cellular telephone subscribers (1997 est.); 3,930 pager subscribers
(1995 est.)
international:
13,985 international circuits (1999 est.) with a plan to reach 14,000 by
March 1999; satellite earth stations—9 Intelsat (with 50 terminals) and 4
Inmarsat; HF radio and microwave radio relay to Turkey, Azerbaijan,
Pakistan, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Syria, Kuwait, Tajikistan, and
Uzbekistan; submarine fiber-optic cable to UAE with access to Fiber-Optic
Link Around the Globe (FLAG); Trans Asia Europe (TAE) fiber-optic line runs
from Azerbaijan through the northern portion of Iran to Turkmenistan with
expansion to Georgia and Azerbaijan; four Internet service providers as of
1997 with the number increasing (service limited to electronic mail to
promote Iranian culture)
Radio broadcast stations:
AM 72, FM 6, shortwave 5 (1998 est.)
Radios:
13 million (1999 est.)
Television broadcast stations:
28 (in addition, there are 450 low-power repeaters, all government
controlled) (1997)
Televisions:
7 million (1999 est.)
