Telecommunication Company of Iran
Encyclopedia
Telecommunication Company of Iran (TCI) was established in 1971 with a new organizational structure as the main responsible administration for the entire telecommunication affairs, and Iran Telecommunication Industries (ITI) was also founded in the same year to manufacture the required equipment for the national long-distance network. TCI has monopoly over Iran's fixed line infrastructure, and until 2010, Iran's largest cellular operator (MCI), and Iran's major Internet service provider and data communication operator (DCI). As of November 2010, MCI accounts for more than 70% of TCI’s profit.
TCI has taken great steps in the development of telecommunication networks and, for this purpose, as the main responsible organization in Iran, has utilized the most advanced equipment and services such as digital switching centers, optical fiber
cables, mobile phone
s, data networks, satellite
services, and telephone special services during the recent years, and has also succeeded to manufacture more than 80 percent of the required equipment inside Iran including cell phones.
In parallel with these achievements, TCI has carried out activities to export technical and engineering services, and has put its experiences at the disposal of other countries within the framework of consulting and contracting agreements.
TCI is also responsible for censoring most of the internet in Iran, as it serves as a bottleneck through which the government can censor whatever it pleases.
In March 2007, TCI and its provincial affiliated companies received the government’s permission to be privatized
. TCI’s Infrastructure Telecom Company will be detached from it and would continue its activities as a part of the ICT Ministry. Close to 33 companies in the telecom sector are expected to be privatized.
In September 2007, the Ministry of ICT announced that 51% of TCI would be privatized before the end of the Iranian calendar year on 20 March 2008. As a forerunner to the sale of a controlling stake in TCI, a 5% stake in the operator was scheduled be floated on the Tehran Stock Exchange
before the end of December 2007. The floatation of this minority stake did not take place as planned, and in January 2008 it was reported that TCI would first have to be established as a fully licensed telecoms service provider.
In April 2008, TCI Chairman Saber Feizi said that the various affiliated companies were interconnected in such a way as to make it impossible to separate them when the company is eventually offered for sale on the stock exchange
. Feizi, therefore, stressed that TCI would be sold along with all its subsidiaries, including mobile business unit Mobile Communications Company of Iran (MCI).
In 2008, TCI had almost 25 million fixed-line subscribers. TCI employed 38,000 permanent employees--13,500 of which are slated to retire during the next three years--and about 45,000 temporary employees through private subcontractors, which will no longer be used after privatization (March 2009).
won the tender for TCI (50% + one, shares) for $7.8 billion. This company partially belongs to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps.
along with TCI are developing the landline telephone network in the towns of Karbala
and Najaf
in Iraq
.
TCI has taken great steps in the development of telecommunication networks and, for this purpose, as the main responsible organization in Iran, has utilized the most advanced equipment and services such as digital switching centers, optical fiber
Optical fiber
An optical fiber is a flexible, transparent fiber made of a pure glass not much wider than a human hair. It functions as a waveguide, or "light pipe", to transmit light between the two ends of the fiber. The field of applied science and engineering concerned with the design and application of...
cables, mobile phone
Mobile phone
A mobile phone is a device which can make and receive telephone calls over a radio link whilst moving around a wide geographic area. It does so by connecting to a cellular network provided by a mobile network operator...
s, data networks, satellite
Fixed Service Satellite
Fixed Service Satellite , is the official classification for geostationary communications satellites used for broadcast feeds for television stations and radio stations and broadcast networks, as well as for telephony, telecommunications and data communications.FSS satellites have also been used...
services, and telephone special services during the recent years, and has also succeeded to manufacture more than 80 percent of the required equipment inside Iran including cell phones.
In parallel with these achievements, TCI has carried out activities to export technical and engineering services, and has put its experiences at the disposal of other countries within the framework of consulting and contracting agreements.
TCI is also responsible for censoring most of the internet in Iran, as it serves as a bottleneck through which the government can censor whatever it pleases.
Privatization
Privatization Organization has forecast that shares of Telecommunication Company of Iran (TCI) will be floated in the stock market by late September 2007.In March 2007, TCI and its provincial affiliated companies received the government’s permission to be privatized
Privatization in Iran
According to the Fourth Five-Year Economic Development Plan , the Privatization Organization of Iran affiliated to the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Finance is in charge of setting prices and ceding shares to the general public and on the Tehran Stock Exchange...
. TCI’s Infrastructure Telecom Company will be detached from it and would continue its activities as a part of the ICT Ministry. Close to 33 companies in the telecom sector are expected to be privatized.
In September 2007, the Ministry of ICT announced that 51% of TCI would be privatized before the end of the Iranian calendar year on 20 March 2008. As a forerunner to the sale of a controlling stake in TCI, a 5% stake in the operator was scheduled be floated on the Tehran Stock Exchange
Tehran Stock Exchange
The Tehran Stock Exchange is Iran's largest stock exchange, which first opened in 1967. The TSE is based in Tehran. As of July 2010, 337 companies with a market capitalization of US$72 billion were listed on TSE...
before the end of December 2007. The floatation of this minority stake did not take place as planned, and in January 2008 it was reported that TCI would first have to be established as a fully licensed telecoms service provider.
In April 2008, TCI Chairman Saber Feizi said that the various affiliated companies were interconnected in such a way as to make it impossible to separate them when the company is eventually offered for sale on the stock exchange
Tehran Stock Exchange
The Tehran Stock Exchange is Iran's largest stock exchange, which first opened in 1967. The TSE is based in Tehran. As of July 2010, 337 companies with a market capitalization of US$72 billion were listed on TSE...
. Feizi, therefore, stressed that TCI would be sold along with all its subsidiaries, including mobile business unit Mobile Communications Company of Iran (MCI).
In 2008, TCI had almost 25 million fixed-line subscribers. TCI employed 38,000 permanent employees--13,500 of which are slated to retire during the next three years--and about 45,000 temporary employees through private subcontractors, which will no longer be used after privatization (March 2009).
IPO
End of September 2009, Mobin Trust ConsortiumMobin trust consortium
The Mobin Trust Consortium is a company affiliated with the Iran Revolutionary Guards Corps.. As such, it is an economic engine of the Revolutionary Guards that has been used to acquire state monopolies, or other commercial and business interests important to conservative Iranian political...
won the tender for TCI (50% + one, shares) for $7.8 billion. This company partially belongs to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Foreign projects
Iran's Ministry of Communication and Information TechnologyMinistry of Economic Affairs and Finance (Iran)
The Ministry of Economic Affairs and Finances function are:*acting as the state treasury,*public finance,*economic and financial policy making,*implementing tax policies,*in charge of foreign direct investment,...
along with TCI are developing the landline telephone network in the towns of Karbala
Karbala
Karbala is a city in Iraq, located about southwest of Baghdad. Karbala is the capital of Karbala Governorate, and has an estimated population of 572,300 people ....
and Najaf
Najaf
Najaf is a city in Iraq about 160 km south of Baghdad. Its estimated population in 2008 is 560,000 people. It is the capital of Najaf Governorate...
in Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
.
TCI's main subsidiaries
- Iran Telecommunication Manufacturing Company (ITMC) - owned by TCI (45%), Industry Bank (35%) and SiemensSiemensSiemens may refer toSiemens, a German family name carried by generations of telecommunications industrialists, including:* Werner von Siemens , inventor, founder of Siemens AG...
(20%) - Iran Telecommunication Industries (ITI) - ITI was established in 1973 in Shiraz as a fully owned subsidiary of TCI. Within the past 20 years ITI has equipped the telecommunications network, manufactured the analogue and digital transmission equipment, and has also contributed to the communications developments in Iran. As of 2001, ITI employed over 2000 staff. The company is responsible for maintaining and expanding Iran's telecom network and providing all the necessary hardware and software in this field.
- Telecommunication Network Planning and Development Company, renamed to Telecommunication Infrastructure Company
- Optical Fiber and Solar Cell Fabrication Company
- Shahid Ghandi Communication Cables Co.
- Data Communications of Iran (DCI) - DCI maintains the network infrastructure, providing Internet access via the IRANPAK X.25 packet-switching network, which covers most major cities. DCI is the only ISP with a permit for supplying government agencies. DCI supplies both dial-up and leased lines to its users.
See also
- Communications in IranCommunications in IranIran’s telecommunications industry is almost entirely state-owned, dominated by the Telecommunication Company of Iran . Fixed-line penetration in 2004 was relatively well-developed by regional standards, standing at 22 lines per 100 people, higher than Egypt with 14 and Saudi Arabia with 15,...
- Hamrah AvalHamrah AvalMobile Company of Iran also known under its brand name Hamrah-e-Avval is Iran's first and largest mobile phone network operator. MCI was a subsidiary of the Telecommunication Company of Iran and it has over 16 million postpaid and over 18 million prepaid subscribers...
, Mobile Communication Company of Iran (MCI) - Mobile operator belonging to TCI