A most recent research report has discovered that mobile data revenue in Iran is limited by the lack of 3G licenses and by the poor quality of the incumbent’s core network, as well as limitations on online content. These circumstances are changing, however, and with strong demand, mobile data revenue is expected to grow at a CAGR of 15% from 2010 to 2015.
Due to infrastructure limitations and legal restrictions on Internet websites, Iran’s data segment is still in its infancy, generating less than a fifth of the telecom industry’s $9.1 billion revenue in 2010.
As per the researchers, Iran has a national ban on many websites, including political, human rights and women’s sites and blogs expressing dissent or deemed to be pornographic and un-Islamic. The ban has also targeted such popular social networking sites as Facebook and YouTube, as well as news sites.
They added that network improvement and creation of local content in Iran will be crucial as growth in data services is triggered by the entry of a third operator, Tamin Telecom. It is expected that data’s share of total revenue to reach 29% by the end of 2015, reaching $3.1 billion. This growth will come not only from new broadband infrastructure but also from greater mobile Internet availability over 2.5G and the launch of 3G and mobile broadband.
3G handsets are already common, as the networks of the two mobile operators are trailing far behind the capabilities of their subscribers’ handsets. Once the third entrant launches 3G services in late 2011, and other operators launch 3G after the two-year exclusivity period, it is expected that 3G service adoption will boom.