Iran vs. Turkmenistan
Telecommunications
| Iran | Turkmenistan | |
|---|---|---|
| Telephones - main lines in use | total subscriptions: 28,954,855 subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 34.45 (2019 est.) | total subscriptions: 648,223 subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 11.85 (2019 est.) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | total subscriptions: 118,061,419 subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 140.48 (2019 est.) | total subscriptions: 8,908,821 subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 162.86 (2019 est.) |
| Internet country code | .ir | .tm |
| Internet users | total: 58,117,322 percent of population: 70% (July 2018 est.) | total: 1,149,840 percent of population: 21.25% (July 2018 est.) |
| Telecommunication systems | general assessment: challenged by censorship and international sanctions; large, youthful, tech-savvy demographic with unmet demand; state-owned operators provided special offerings for services during pandemic, driving mobile broadband and deployment of 4G to nearly all of the population; government expanding fiber network and preparing for 5G to grow digital economy and smart city infrastructure; importer of broadcasting and computer equipment from UAE and China (2021) (2020) domestic: 35 per 100 for fixed-line and 142 per 100 for mobile-cellular subscriptions; investment by Iran's state-owned telecom company has greatly improved and expanded both the fixed-line and mobile cellular networks; a huge percentage of the cell phones in the market have been smuggled into the country (2019) international: country code - 98; landing points for Kuwait-Iran, GBICS & MENA, FALCON, OMRAN/3PEG Cable System, POI and UAE-Iran submarine fiber-optic cable to the Middle East, Africa and India; (TAE) fiber-optic line runs from Azerbaijan through the northern portion of Iran to Turkmenistan with expansion to Georgia and Azerbaijan; HF radio and microwave radio relay to Turkey, Azerbaijan, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Syria, Kuwait, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan; satellite earth stations - 13 (9 Intelsat and 4 Inmarsat) (2019) note: the COVID-19 pandemic continues to have a significant impact on production and supply chains globally; since 2020, some aspects of the telecom sector have experienced downturn, particularly in mobile device production; many network operators delayed upgrades to infrastructure; progress towards 5G implementation was postponed or slowed in some countries; consumer spending on telecom services and devices was affected by large-scale job losses and the consequent restriction on disposable incomes; the crucial nature of telecom services as a tool for work and school from home became evident, and received some support from governments | general assessment: stagnant economy, rural geography, and authoritarian rule limit development of the telecom sector; in cooperation with Russian-based partners, operators have installed high-speed fiber-optic lines and upgraded most of the country's telephone switch centers with digital technology; some rural areas lack fixed-line coverage; mobile broadband is in the early stages of development; services are extremely slow, though Trans-Caspian cable will provide international Internet capacity and improvement in services; freedom of press and expression restricted through monitoring, media interruption, and removal of receivers from households; importer of broadcasting equipment from UAE (2021) (2020)domestic: fixed-line 12 per 100 and mobile-cellular teledensity is about 163 per 100 persons; first telecommunication satellite was launched in 2015 (2019) international: country code - 993; linked by fiber-optic cable and microwave radio relay to other CIS republics and to other countries by leased connections to the Moscow international gateway switch; an exchange in Ashgabat switches international traffic through Turkey via Intelsat; satellite earth stations - 1 Orbita and 1 Intelsat (2018) note: the COVID-19 pandemic continues to have a significant impact on production and supply chains globally; since 2020, some aspects of the telecom sector have experienced downturn, particularly in mobile device production; many network operators delayed upgrades to infrastructure; progress towards 5G implementation was postponed or slowed in some countries; consumer spending on telecom services and devices was affected by large-scale job losses and the consequent restriction on disposable incomes; the crucial nature of telecom services as a tool for work and school from home became evident, and received some support from governments |
| Broadband - fixed subscriptions | total: 8,771,251 subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 10.44 (2019 est.) | total: 4,000 subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: less than 1 (2017 est.) |
| Broadcast media | state-run broadcast media with no private, independent broadcasters; Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), the state-run TV broadcaster, operates 19 nationwide channels including a news channel, about 34 provincial channels, and several international channels; about 20 foreign Persian-language TV stations broadcasting on satellite TV are capable of being seen in Iran; satellite dishes are illegal and, while their use is subjectively tolerated, authorities confiscate satellite dishes from time to time; IRIB operates 16 nationwide radio networks, a number of provincial stations, and an external service; most major international broadcasters transmit to Iran (2019) | broadcast media is government controlled and censored; 7 state-owned TV and 4 state-owned radio networks; satellite dishes and programming provide an alternative to the state-run media; officials sometimes limit access to satellite TV by removing satellite dishes |
Source: CIA Factbook
