Behzad Akbari, the Deputy Minister of Communications and CEO of the Communications Infrastructure Company, announced the increase in the use of Starlink satellite internet in Iran following the war. He stated that the country's international traffic has now reached about 90 percent of the level before the internet outage in December.
Internet Traffic Status in Iran
Akbari said: "The country's international traffic has reached a level that we witnessed before these blackouts, but still, part of the traffic that has left due to the war has not returned to the network." He also pointed to a significant increase in Starlink users and added: "During the war, the number of Starlink users in Iran has increased compared to other parts of the world."
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Challenges and Limitations
In a press conference yesterday, Akbari emphasized in response to reporters' questions about the internet situation that the capacity of international internet has significantly increased and there are currently no issues in this regard. He also mentioned that restrictions on the IPv6 protocol have been lifted. However, he acknowledged that filtering and other factors affect the quality of the internet.
Akbari continued: "Although the internet capacity has increased, the quality of services remains a challenge for users due to filtering and other issues in the communication chain." He also referred to internet consumption in Iran, stating that the average mobile internet consumption in Iran reaches 23 to 25 gigabytes per device per month, which is not much different from the global average.
Vicious Cycle and Technical Problems
The Deputy Minister of Communications referred to the vicious cycle created due to technical restrictions and attempts to block VPNs. He explained that these restrictions can affect the quality of internet services. Akbari also mentioned technical problems in using IPs and said: "Limiting one IP does not just restrict one service and can lead to more problems."
He concluded by saying that although some platforms are still blocked, Iranian users continue to use them, and this situation can increase access costs and network pollution. It seems that to improve the quality of internet services in Iran, fundamental changes in policies and infrastructure are needed.
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