Iran’s Minister of Information and Communication Technology Seyed Sattar Hashemi said on Sunday that the nation-wide project to convert the copper cables to optical fibers is a landmark transformation in the country’s telecommunications history.
“It is a milestone in the
development of the country and a major move to enter the next century of
information and communication technology,” he said at the National
Telecommunications Conference in Tehran titled
Together for ICT Development: Giant Step from Copper to Optical Cable.
"About ninety years ago, the
country's first telecommunications center with 6,000 numbers was launched on
Lalehzar Street in Tehran. Today, after all these years, we have gathered in a
similar ceremony to officially launch a new technology that transforms the electrical
infrastructure into an optical one.”
Gateway to Future
“Technology moves on its path and
we must recognize its changes,” the minister added, “If copper wire lasts for another
hundred years, we must ask ourselves whether fiber optics will be shaping the
country’s communications for the next hundred years as well.”
Hashemi also stressed that future
research in the field of communications is essential so that future
developments can be understood and planned, particularly in satellite and
quantum communications.
The ICT minister continued by highlighting
the role of solidarity in advancement of the telecommunications industry and said,
“The differences between the various telecommunications sectors of the country
were undeniable in the past, but today our objective is the synergy to provide
quality services to the people.”
“Support for telecommunications
companies will be carried out within the framework of healthy competition and
no anti-competitive measures will be on the agenda,” he added.
He termed the synergy in production
of communication equipment a feature of the fiber optic conversion plan and said,
“In this project, domestic manufacturers have joined infrastructure developers
to set the entire communications ecosystem of the country in motion.”
Green Communications
Hashemi said that the reduction
in energy consumption has been one of the achievements of copper to optical
cable transformation.
“Optical fibers not only improve
the quality of communications but also realize the green communications. As the
country is facing the challenge of power imbalance, the development of
communications on the fiber optic platform can have an important contribution
to reducing energy consumption."
The ICT minister concluded his
speech by reiterating that "all efforts are focused on the people," and
said, "People's satisfaction is the main criterion for our success”.
“Just as in the private sector,
business continuity depends on customer satisfaction, in the public sector,
people's satisfaction is the criterion for evaluating our performance. The
infrastructure for communicating with the people in the Communications Regulatory
Authority must be strengthened so that real feedback on the quality of services
can be obtained."
Hashemi said moving from copper
to optical cable is not just a change in technology rather a “loving gesture to
serve the people”. “The path is not easy, but with the love and unity in the
communications family, a bright future for Iran’s ICT will be achieved."
Conference Sideline
Later, in an online contact, the
minister inaugurated the connection of two schools to the telecommunications
fiber optic network, expressing hope that all Iranian schools would be equipped
with the technology.
In a separate online contact, the
project to remove copper from communication routes was launched simultaneously
in five provinces.
The ICT minister visited the
exhibition of the capabilities of domestic manufacturing companies active in
the implementation of the optical cable project and was briefed about the
operation of these firms.