Speaking on the sidelines of the ceremony to inaugurate the biggest data center in western and northwestern Iran, Azari Jahromi said the 5G Internet laboratory will be unveiled within two weeks, IRNA reported.

He described the Mobile Telecommunication Company of Iran as the biggest operator in the Middle East which has the widest communication coverage.

He said that the budget has been allocated by the government for expanding the national data network.

Azari Jahromi also said the goal of the country is to have five million Internet TV subscribers, adding that this field of economy is a huge opportunity.

The number of Iranians with access to high-speed mobile Internet services has increased exponentially over the past seven years to reach a total of 70 million, said the Communications Regulatory Authority (CRA) last week.

IRNA cited figures by CRA as saying that coverage of third and fourth generation of mobile Internet had increased from 12 percent of the population in 2013 to nearly 83 percent this year.

It said the total number of 3G and 4G SIM cards owned by Iranians had exceeded 100 million, adding that around 70 million are currently using the high-speed services on an active basis.

The total number of mobile phone subscribers in Iran, a country of nearly 85 million, is currently around 120 million, said the report.

Fast Internet is currently accessible across 83 percent of Iran’s roads and railways, said the report, adding that the figure was almost zero in 2006 according to CRA figures.

The report said, however, that increased coverage of mobile Internet in Iran had come at the expense of reduced access to fast broadband.

The figures showed that using fast broadband had declined to cover only 10 percent of users in Iran this year, down from 42 million users or 53 percent of the population in 2017.

Increased use of high-speed mobile Internet in Iran has come despite restrictions imposed on the country’s access to equipment and technologies needed to expand the communication services sector.

The restrictions, imposed by the United States, have mainly targeted foreign companies delivering key equipment and expertise to Iran.