Increase in Internet Disruptions in Iran; Communications Minister: We Are Ahead of Afghanistan
As criticism mounts over increasing internet disruptions and slow internet speeds in Iran, the Islamic Republic’s communications minister stated that internet speed in Iran is higher than in Afghanistan.
In recent days, multiple reports have been published on social media and in news outlets regarding internet disruptions despite the reliance on virtual education during the coronavirus crisis.
Internet disruptions have become so severe that an official from the Ministry of Science told ILNA news agency on February 13: “Disruptions in internet quality and speed have increased over the past few months, causing distress in conducting classes and exams.”
Ali-Akbar Safavi, head of the e-learning working group at the Ministry of Science, Research and Technology, referring to the “suffering and complaints” of Iran’s education system regarding internet disruptions, added that this issue has “greatly increased the level of stress and psychological pressure imposed on students, professors, university management, and technical specialists.”
Following increased criticism and reactions from virtual space users claiming that internet speed in Iran “is lower than Afghanistan,” the communications minister responded to the issue today, Tuesday, February 16.
Isa Zarepoor stated that Iran’s internet situation is “a hundred steps ahead” of Afghanistan, and the average internet speed in Afghanistan is “1.7 megabits per second, whereas our mobile internet speed is 24 megabits per second and the global average is 29 megabits per second.”
While the causes of internet disruptions in Iran have not been announced by responsible officials, Mehrdad Vis Karmi, secretary of the joint committee for the “Seyanat” plan, told the newspaper “Entekhaab” on February 15 that slow internet has nothing to do with this plan for restricting the internet, known as “Seyanat,” and “it may be due to certain gatherings.”
It appears his reference is to gatherings of various labor groups in recent months who, with increasing economic pressures in Iran, take to the streets to demand their rights.
Mehrdad Vis Karmi provided no explanation on how these labor gatherings are connected to slow internet speeds across the country.
The plan known as “Supporting Users’ Rights and Basic Services in Virtual Space,” also known as the “Seyanat Plan,” is organized in 37 articles and is currently under review at the Majlis Research Center.
In recent months, after the leader of the Islamic Republic called the virtual space in Iran “loose and uncontrolled” in his remarks and criticized responsible institutions for not restricting it, the “Seyanat” plan for virtual space was placed on the parliament’s agenda, with its focus on restricting social networks.
Source: Radio Farda
