Open Letter from Tehran Electronic Commerce Association: Following Up on the President’s Promises and Urgent Actions to Improve Internet Quality in Iran
Date: August 29, 2024
To:
Mr. Seyed Sattar Hashemi
Honorable Minister of Communications and Information Technology
As you are aware, the Tehran Electronic Commerce Association, representing a group of startups and major tech companies in the country, strives to contribute to the enhancement of Iran’s internet quality—a fundamental pillar of the digital economy—through transparent reporting and active advocacy.
To this end, our specialized Internet and Infrastructure Commission was established with the mission of providing a clear picture of Iran’s internet quality in three key areas: disruptions, restrictions, and speed. This commission has published three comprehensive biannual reports detailing the state of internet quality in Iran. Following each report, we have actively advocated for improvements on both domestic fronts (such as filtering, disruptions, and infrastructure issues) and international fronts (such as sanctions).
Attached to this letter is the commission’s third report. Some of the key findings include:
- Among the world’s top 100 economies, Iran ranks worst in terms of open internet access.
- Based on CRuX data, Iran ranks 90th out of 100 for internet disruptions and speed; Cloudflare data ranks it 97th out of 100.
- Nearly 40% of user experiences across 5,000 of the most visited Iranian websites suffer from full disruptions or severe slowdowns, whereas this figure is under 6% in the top 50 global economies.
- Technical representatives from operators believe that filtering equipment is the most significant factor degrading Iran’s internet quality and the greatest obstacle to network development.
Official government reports on Iran FTTX indicate that despite effective actions leading to coverage of 7.5 million households, fewer than 550,000 users subscribe to fiber optic internet. Moreover, the expansion of this technology faces serious challenges in major cities, including Tehran.
Following the issues raised in our third internet quality report—published concurrently with the presidential elections—we presented a set of demands to the election candidates. Ms. Hamideh Zarrabadi, spokesperson for Mr. Masoud Pezeshkian’s campaign, pledged on the day of the report’s release that these demands would be pursued by the President and his administration. Our requests are categorized into three areas:
- Active efforts to reform the filtering structure and reduce internet restrictions
- Ending the monopoly of the Infrastructure Communications Company and expanding high-speed internet
- Strengthening international diplomacy and working to lift international sanctions
Some of these demands—such as “immediate removal of disruptions caused by filtering systems under private sector oversight,” “transparency of votes by the six government representatives on the Content Determination Task Force,” and “transparent, real-time reporting of internet quality indicators (including reactivation of disabled platforms from the previous government)”—can be implemented immediately and decisively without any infrastructural changes.
Furthermore, since the association’s fourth internet quality report will be published this fall, we request the opportunity to present the latest findings and detailed recommendations to you. We hope that, in the limited time before the next report, the people of Iran will witness concrete governmental actions in the current administration.
May this plant hope in the hearts of the people and the youth of Iran’s technology sector.
Now, the time has come for you, “Sattar,” to lead with justice.
Nima Ghazi
Chairman of the Board
Tehran Electronic Commerce Association
