Iranian president inaugurates 184 telecommunication projects

IRNA web site, Tehran
3 Aug 04

Tabriz, East Azarbayjan Province, 3 August: President Mohammad Khatami
here Monday 2 August inaugurated 184 telecommunication projects in
this northwestern province.

Over 20bn rials has been spent on the projects which include a major
one providing audio and visual telecommunication facilities between
Iran and Armenia through the use of optic fibres.

The project with a cost of over 4bn rials, covers a distance of 140 km
of which 71 km is within the Iranian territory.

Addressing the opening ceremony of the launching of the projects, the
president referred to the contract to have a second operator in
country’s telecommunications system as a very well-calculated and
valuable plan.

He said the contract will make it possible to offer an extra 5m
telephone lines within two years.

Pointing to the exclusive geo-strategic and geo-political situation of
Iran, Khatami described the country as the linking point of East and
West and said making investments in telecommunications and information
is very important and valuable.

Talking in the same ceremony, Minister of Communications and
Information Technology (CIT) Ahmad Mo’tamedi said his ministry was
aiming at updating the communications system in all parts of the
country.

He said 15,340,000 telephone lines were currently used by people while
3,450,000 cell phone numbers have been sold in the country so far.