Telecommunication Company of Iran has signed two agreements with local Internet service providers Shatel and HiWeb according to which the state-owned company will share its networks with the two private firms.
Last July the Communication Regulatory Authority issued a mandate it calls ‘Wholesale Bitstream Access’ obliging TCI to share its infrastructure with private companies.
“In order to comply with the ombudsman’s July directive, TCI has developed a system for sharing its network with private entities,” CITNA quoted the TCI chief Majid Sadri as saying.
Bitstream access refers to the situation where a telephony company installs a high-speed access link to customers’ premises and then makes this access link available to third parties, to enable them to provide high-speed services to customers.
“A deal has been signed with Shatel and Hiweb. TCI is open to collaboration with all fixed communication service providers (FCPs),” he added.
Other companies likely to sign similar agreements with TCI are AsiaTech, Pars Online, Saba Net, Psihgaman, Helma Gostar and Afra Net.