Rural Telecommunications in Iran: a Hybrid Solution

The necessity of the development of ICT in rural areas has become a major issue in the developing countries for some time now. Iran, one of the participants of this movement, plans to take some significant short-term steps in this field, steps which will revolve the situation of it’s rural ICT extensively. One of the main related issues in Iran is the large number of geographical situations present in rural parts demanding distinct telecommunication solutions. Having studied thoroughly the current situation of rural telecommunication in Iran and also the available and the newly introduced technical solutions, in this article we propose a complete telecommunication plan for rural Iran that covers the majority of villages. As an example a typical rural scenario present is introduced and a brief discussion is dedicated to clearly discuss a suitable access solution. The proposed guidelines are currently being utilised in some parts of the country and the outcome is being analysed by the authors to judge on the performance of the proposal