Iran could soon face internet blackouts of up to three hours a day unless tariffs are raised by 70 percent to cover soaring costs to the struggling network, the CEO of Irancell, the country’s second-largest mobile network operator warned.
“If tariffs are not adjusted, operators will not be able to invest, and improving internet quality will be impossible,” Alireza Rafiei said on Monday.
In the near future, he said, Iranians should expect scheduled internet outages just like the country's routine power cuts.
Iran’s internet crisis, marked by declining quality, frequent disruptions, and GPS interference, has persisted for two months since the 12-day war with Israel when blackouts rocked the country, affecting everything from tracing the whereabouts of loved ones to online banking and GPS services for businesses dependent on them.
Consumption has steadily increased while tariffs have remained frozen for years, even as electricity, equipment, and operational costs have multiplied, Rafiei added. Without higher rates, he argued, operators cannot invest in upgrades.
Iran ranks among the worst for connectivity
A report by the Internet and Infrastructure Commission of Tehran’s E-Commerce Association last week ranked Iran 97th out of 100 countries in terms of quality, describing the network as “unreliable, restricted and slow.”
Citizens across Iran have told Iran International of widespread issues, saying outages and slow speeds add to the pressure of power cuts, water shortages, inflation, and unemployment.
Government officials have blamed the June war with Israel for worsening connectivity. On July 15, government spokeswoman Fatemeh Mohajerani linked new restrictions to security decisions taken during the conflict, while Communications Minister Sattar Hashemi acknowledged poor quality service earlier in August.
Interference was partly introduced after reports that GPS signals were being used to guide drones, he said.
However, the E-Commerce Association report said that disruptions had been recorded long before the conflict and remain unresolved even two months since its end.
Power cuts and GPS disruptions
Constant electricity blackouts make matters worse as operators cannot recharge backup systems in time, Rafiei said.
“The batteries we use, even in the best case, only work 45 minutes to one hour,” he explained. “With repeated outages, sometimes we don’t even get the chance to recharge them.”
If two hours of daily power cuts accumulate, it means “two percent of sites are permanently off, creating extraordinary dissatisfaction,” added Rafiei.
The crisis has been compounded by widespread GPS disruptions.
Since the war, users continue to report erratic location shifts of hundreds of kilometers, disrupting services such as ride-hailing apps and logistics businesses.
The Iranian government continues to promote its long-term national internet project, designed to tighten control over information flows.
