The state-run Shargh daily wrote: “By ranking 95th, Iran has the worst internet quality among the top 100 GDP countries,” placing it lower than countries such as Sudan, Congo, and Ethiopia.
According to Shargh: “By ranking 95th, Iran has the worst internet quality among the top 100 GDP countries, meaning the world’s largest economies.”
The report states that Iran’s internet experience is only better than in countries such as Cuba, Turkmenistan, Sudan, and Ethiopia, a situation that places Iran alongside war-torn and underdeveloped nations.
This decline in quality is a direct result of entrenched corruption and regime policies that sacrifice citizens’ free access in favor of control and censorship.
Approval of Accelerated Implementation of Class-Based Internet in Iran
In the winter of 2023, the Ministry of Communications raised internet tariffs by 30% with promises of improved quality, but Shargh emphasized that the quality “not only did not improve but actually got worse.”
Shargh reminded that in the winter of 2023, the Ministry of Communications raised tariffs by 30% with a commitment to improve quality. However, “in practice, quality did not change noticeably and even got worse,” leaving the gap between “higher prices” and “lower quality” intact.
This trend shows that the cost increases only served to fill the pockets of telecom operators and networks tied to the regime’s power structure, not for infrastructure development. The judiciary, through silence and inaction, has paved the way for the continuation of this cycle of corruption and profiteering.
Experts say the roots of the internet crisis lie not in tariffs but in filtering and restrictive regime policies— a clear example of structural corruption and lack of accountability from the judiciary and government.
Experts interviewed by Shargh stressed that the internet crisis stems more from restrictive policies and filtering than tariffs: “What seriously affects both internet quality and operators’ revenue is the imposition of restrictions and filtering on the network.”
Restrictions imposed by security and regime institutions have not only disrupted people’s lives and businesses but have also driven the telecommunications industry to the brink of collapse.
This clear picture of structural corruption once again shows how national interests and people’s well-being have been sacrificed to a network of profiteering, censorship, and a corrupt judiciary.
