Mobile internet tariffs likely to rise by up to 40%; operators had requested a 100% increase

This article was first published on Gimfa. Gimfa: News, reviews, games, cinema, films and series, at the link: Mobile internet tariffs likely to rise by up to 40%; operators had requested a 100% increase. Mobile internet tariffs in Iran are once again on the rise. Reports published in recent days indicate that mobile operators' request to revise internet package tariffs, with

The mobile internet tariff in Iran has once again increased.

The reports published in recent days indicate that the request of mobile phone operators to review the tariff of Internet packages has been met with the approval of the regulatory body and the increase of tariffs up to 40% is considered as one of the most likely scenarios; However, until the moment of writing this news, no official and comprehensive table of new prices has been published yet.

According to reports, the Radio Communications and Regulatory Organization has agreed to the principle of increasing the tariffs for Internet packages. In this regard, some other reports have also announced Thursday, 23 Mehr as the possible time for the implementation of new tariffs; However, until now, the official and detailed announcement that specifies the implementation time, included packages and the exact percentage of the price change of each service has not been made available to the public. At the current stage, it cannot be concluded that the price of all the offered packages will increase by exactly the same factor of 40%.

The interesting point is that apparently the requested figure of the operators was much more than 40%. According to a report published after following up with the public relations of the operators, they have confirmed that their initial proposal to the regulator was a 100% increase in the Internet tariff, i.e. doubling the prices. Operators have put forward factors such as fluctuations and increase in exchange rate, pressures caused by sanctions, skyrocketing costs of providing equipment and network maintenance, as well as damage caused to communication infrastructure as the main reasons for this request.

According to the arguments of the operators, a major part of the costs related to the development and maintenance of the network is directly dependent on the currency; While their incomes are provided exclusively on the basis of Rials. However, it is emphasized that any changes in prices will be effective only after receiving the necessary legal approvals; Therefore, the figure of 100% is only a request from the operators and does not mean the approval and application of such an increase.

It should be noted that this is not the first increase in the Internet tariff in the past year. Previously, in December 1404, permission was issued to increase the price of mobile internet by a maximum of 20%, and in the next step, another stage of price increase was implemented on March 5th of the same year with an 18% increase in package tariffs. At that point in time, the Organization for Regulation of Regulation stated that the increase in infrastructure development costs, foreign currency purchases by operators and increase in human rights were among the most important reasons for accepting the request of operators.

The issue of Internet price increase in recent months has always been one of the most challenging and disputed points between users, operators and the Ministry of Communications. Sattar Hashemi, Minister of Communications, last September, referring to this issue, stated that the growth of tariffs in the field of communications in the last five years was less than 80%; Meanwhile, the prices of many public goods and services have experienced a jump between 200 and 500 percent in the same period of time. A few weeks after these statements, he suggested that the communication tariffs be revised and adjusted annually in accordance with the country's inflation rate.

In the current situation, the most important uncertainty is the exact scope of this price increase. The published reports so far mainly focus on mobile internet and it is still not possible to say with certainty whether the tariff of fixed internet services, TD-LTE or fiber optic internet will also be changed at the same time and by a similar factor. In addition, it is not yet clear whether all packages will become more expensive by the same percentage, or whether the operators will redesign the packages by changing their structure, volume composition, validity period and final price.