The Telecommunication Company of Iran (TCI) has launched a project to deploy the country’s first fibre-to-the-home (FTTH) connections in Tehran and seven other cities. TechRasa reports that the initial phase of the rollout will see 580,000 lines installed, including 245,000 in Tehran, 85,000 in Isfahan, 80,000 in Mashhad, 61,000 in Shiraz, 61,000 in Ahvaz, 28,000 in Karaj and 20,000 in Kermanshah. Fibre-to-the-cabinet (FTTC) technology has previously been used by another state-backed operator, Iranian Net, but TCI’s new TANOMA project will mark the first time that fibre connections have been installed directly to the customer premises. The FTTH links will offer connectivity both to Iran’s National Information Network (NIN), which is a closed system of state-approved sites, or to the wider internet.