The Internet and Infrastructure Commission of the Tehran E-Commerce Association published a report stating that Iran ranks 97th among 100 countries in terms of internet speed, disruptions, and restrictions. Despite these limitations, studies indicate that the number of Starlink satellite internet users in Iran is growing.
Hamidreza Ahmadi, deputy chair of the commission, said on Sunday, August 3, that Iran remains among the worst in the world in terms of internet quality, marked by being “highly disrupted,” “restricted,” and “slow.”
Cuba, Turkmenistan, and Sudan are the only three countries ranked lower than Iran.
War, internet blackout, anxiety; connection with Iran has been severed
100 Startups Demand an End to Internet Restrictions
The commission emphasized in its report that although hearing “Iran ranks at the bottom of internet quality indexes” for the fifth time may no longer come as a surprise, society must not grow accustomed to the poor-quality internet endured by end users.
According to the report, Iran’s poor internet quality can only be resolved through changes in domestic policy—such as lifting censorship and improving the network by eliminating deliberate disruptions imposed under the pretext of blocking VPNs.
The report also included a statement from 100 Iranian startups demanding an end to internet restrictions.
Their demands include lifting censorship, increasing international bandwidth and speed, and removing restrictions on emerging protocols such as HTTP/6 and IPV6.
Fast and Secure Internet Protocol Remains Blocked in Iran After the War
The Tehran E-Commerce Association report stressed that various internet disruptions are evident in Iran’s network, some of which were recorded even before the recent war and still persist.
Pouya Pirhosseinlou, head of the Internet and Infrastructure Commission, said during the unveiling of the fifth Internet Quality Report on August 3 at Iran’s Chamber of Commerce that, unlike other services, the HTTP/3 communication protocol has not been unblocked following the 12-day war.
He stated that an official or security directive from Iran’s Supreme Council of Cyberspace has ordered the continued blocking of this protocol.
Approval of Accelerated Implementation of Class-Based Internet in Iran
HTTP/3 is the latest generation of internet data transfer protocol, offering default encryption, faster speeds, and greater stability—particularly on unstable or mobile networks.
While it enables faster and more secure access to websites, its technical features that facilitate bypassing censorship have led to it being restricted or blocked in Iran.
93% of Young Iranians Use VPNs
The commission’s deputy chair stated that in their fifth internet quality report, a special survey conducted in collaboration with ISPA found that 93% of Iranian youth aged 15 to 30 use VPNs.
According to the survey, 86% of all internet users in Iran rely on VPN services.
It also shows that 62.2% of users did not use VPNs or proxies before 2022, when social media and messaging apps like Telegram and Instagram were filtered.
Despite censorship, Instagram remains the first choice for 63% of Iranian internet users.
The survey further reveals that the number of Starlink users—described as a super VPN—is increasing monthly in Iran.
Nima Ghazi, head of the E-Commerce Association, stated that while the official narrative promotes growing the digital economy to 10% of Iran’s GDP, every action being taken in the country contradicts this goal.
