Irancell is an Iranian

telecommunications Telecommunication is the transmission of information by various types of technologies over wire, radio, optical, or other electromagnetic systems. It has its origin in the desire of humans for communication over a distance greater than that ...

company that operates

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

's largest 2G-3G-4G-4.5G-5G mobile network, and fixed wireless TD-LTE internet services. It is the first provider of 5G internet in Iran. As of 2013, Irancell holds a revenue of 4.9 billion dollars. It is the 32nd largest company in Iran. Currently, MTN Group holds a 49% percent stake in the Irancell consortium, while Kowsar Sign Paniz (KSP) holds the other 51% of shares. On 3 December 2014, Irancell officially launched Iran's first

4G LTE In telecommunications, long-term evolution (LTE) is a standard for wireless broadband communication for mobile devices and data terminals, based on the GSM/EDGE and UMTS/HSPA standards. It improves on those standards' capacity and speed by us ...

network in nine cities. The License was granted as on a national basis and includes the overall geographical coverage of Iran. Within a short time after being granted the license, Irancell was able to complete the network operation and roll-out and started the test launch of its network on 28 August 2006 (some 9 months after being granted the license). Irancell was officially launched on 21 October 2006 in Tehran, Tabriz, and Mashhad. The network provides the subscribers with an advanced generation of GSM system to enable them to get used of EDGE (2.75 G). Irancell made countrywide coverage with FD-LTE and

TD-LTE In telecommunications, long-term evolution (LTE) is a standard for wireless broadband communication for mobile devices and data terminals, based on the GSM/EDGE and UMTS/ HSPA standards. It improves on those standards' capacity and speed by us ...

. As of December 2021, Irancell has 50.4 million active subscribers.

Shareholders

Irancell has two shareholders: Kowsar Sign Paniz (KSP) (51%), and MTN International (Mauritius) Limited (49%). IEDC currently has two key shareholders: *

Mostazafan Foundation The Mostazafan Foundation of Islamic Revolution ( fa, بنیاد مستضعفان انقلاب اسلامی) formerly Bonyad-e Mostazafan va Janbazan (Foundation of the Oppressed and Disabled or "MFJ") is a charitable ''bonyad'', or foundation, in ...

, a

Bonyad Bonyads ( fa, بنیاد "Foundation") are charitable trusts in Iran that play a major role in Iran's non-petroleum economy, controlling an estimated 20% of Iran's GDP, and channeling revenues to groups supporting the Islamic Republic. Exempt f ...

Iran Electronics Industries ''Sânai'-ye Elâktrunik-e Iran'' , logo = SAIran.svg , logo_size = 200px , type = State-owned , foundation = , location_city = Tehran , location_country = Iran , area_served = Iran , industry ...

(IEI), known as SAIRAN (company with military contracts)

Controversy

Sanctions

According to

Reuters Reuters ( ) is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters Corporation. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide. Reuters is one of the largest news agencies in the world. The agency was est ...

, the company was able to obtain banned U.S. technologies despite imposed

sanctions against Iran There have been a number of sanctions against Iran imposed by a number of countries, especially the United States, and international entities. Iran was the most sanctioned country in the world until it was surpassed by Russia following its inva ...

Sunni insult and boycott

In July 2013, Iran's Sunni community which is the second-largest religious group, accused the company of insulting caliph

Umar ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb ( ar, عمر بن الخطاب, also spelled Omar, ) was the second Rashidun caliph, ruling from August 634 until his assassination in 644. He succeeded Abu Bakr () as the second caliph of the Rashidun Caliphate ...

after he was called "deceived by

the Devil Satan,, ; grc, ὁ σατανᾶς or , ; ar, شيطانالخَنَّاس , also known as the Devil, and sometimes also called Lucifer in Christianity, is an entity in the Abrahamic religions that seduces humans into sin or falsehood ...

" in a competition's question. People in predominantly Sunni Provinces

Kurdistan Kurdistan ( ku, کوردستان ,Kurdistan ; lit. "land of the Kurds") or Greater Kurdistan is a roughly defined geo-cultural territory in Western Asia wherein the Kurds form a prominent majority population and the Kurdish culture, languag ...

and Sistan & Baluchestan boycotted the company and a Sunni MP voiced their anger in a parliamentary session. Irancell later apologized for the 'unintentional mistake'.

Mobile web pricing

After Irancell doubled the prices for its

mobile web The mobile web refers to mobile browser-based World Wide Web services accessed from handheld mobile devices, such as smartphones or feature phones, through a mobile or other wireless network. History and development Traditionally, the ...

services in December 2014, some angered users started protesting the company via the

social media Social media are interactive media technologies that facilitate the creation and sharing of information, ideas, interests, and other forms of expression through virtual communities and networks. While challenges to the definition of ''social me ...

. Subscribers decided to hold a boycott on the company and remove their

SIM card A typical SIM card (mini-SIM with micro-SIM cutout) A GSM mobile phone file:Simkarte NFC SecureElement.jpg, T-Mobile nano-SIM card with NFC capabilities in the SIM tray of an iPhone 6s file:Tf sim both sides.png, A TracFone Wireless SIM card ha ...

s altogether on 31 December 2014.

Subscribers' privacy leak

Irancell has been criticized for its

privacy policy A privacy policy is a statement or legal document (in privacy law) that discloses some or all of the ways a party gathers, uses, discloses, and manages a customer or client's data. Personal information can be anything that can be used to identify ...

. In July 2016, a

robot A robot is a machine—especially one programmable by a computer—capable of carrying out a complex series of actions automatically. A robot can be guided by an external control device, or the control may be embedded within. Robots may be ...

known as ''MTN Bot'' leaked data on personal information of millions of Irancell subscribers on

Telegram Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas ...

. Irancell did not pledge responsibility for the leakage and accused its rivals for the turmoil caused by the news. On 3 July 2016, Minister of Communications

Mahmoud Vaezi Mahmoud Vaezi ( fa, محمود واعظی, born 22 May 1952) is an Iranian engineer, politician and former diplomat. He was minister of communication from 2013 until 2017 and chief of staff of the president of Iran from 2017 to 2021. He obtaine ...

told that the data was leaked by an

intelligence agent Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information (intelligence) from non-disclosed sources or divulging of the same without the permission of the holder of the information for a tangibl ...

when Irancell handed subscribers' data to an anonymous intelligence agency in Iran upon an inquiry in 2014.

Ad Injection

In November 2017, Minister of Communications

Mohammad Javad Jahromi Mohammad-Javad Azari Jahromi ( fa, محمدجواد آذری جهرمی; born 16 September 1982) is an Iranian politician and former intelligence officer who served as the Minister of Information and Communications Technology in the administration ...

warned Irancell over its ad injection.

References

External links

* * * * {{Authority control Mobile phone companies of Iran Privately held companies of Iran Iranian companies established in 2005 Telecommunications companies established in 2005