Communications:

Telephones: 8,991,797 (1997 est.)

Telephone system:

domestic: 25 regional telecommunications authorities created in 1996; these authorities are responsible for implementing paging services and cellular systems; microwave radio relay extends throughout the country with the system centered in Tehran; system is moving toward digitization and direct-dial capability; 255 long-distance circuits (1999 est.); 366 telephone exchanges (1995 est.); 204,400 microwave channels (1996 est.); 230,000 cellular telephone subscribers (1997 est.); 3,930 pager subscribers (1995 est.)

International: 13,985 international circuits (1999 est.) with a plan to reach 14,000 by March 1999; satellite earth stations-9 Intelsat (with 50 terminals) and 4 Inmarsat; HF radio and microwave radio relay to Turkey, Azerbaijan, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Syria, Kuwait, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan; submarine fiber-optic cable to UAE with access to Fiber-Optic Link Around the Globe (FLAG); Trans Asia Europe (TAE) fiber-optic line runs from Azerbaijan through the northern portion of Iran to Turkmenistan with expansion to Georgia and Azerbaijan; four Internet service providers as of 1997 with the number increasing (service limited to electronic mail to promote Iranian culture)

Radio broadcast stations: AM 72, FM 6, shortwave 5 (1998 est.)

Radios: 13 million (1999 est.)

Television broadcast stations: 28

Televisions: 7 million (1999 est.)