In its third meeting, the Transformation, Innovation, and Efficiency Commission of the Tehran Chamber of Commerce gathered with representatives from private sector chambers and related organizations to address critical issues within the telecommunications industry. The topics of discussion included profitability concerns, the departure of private sector companies, the migration of specialists, and the declining value of this industry in the stock market.
Discussion Focuses on Telecom Industry Challenges and Business Association Elections
According to IDEA, during this session, after introducing the services offered by the Economic Research Department, Diyako Hosseini, Deputy of this division, criticized the lack of clarity surrounding the Business Virtual Association’s fate and the absence of elections in this association over the past two years.
Reza Olfatnasab, a member of the National Virtual Business Association’s board, pointed out that it remains unclear why the Ministry of Industry, Mines, and Trade has been procrastinating in holding elections for this association. This is occurring despite some officials at the ministry advocating for the division of this association into two entities: distribution and service-oriented.
Following the discussion and exchange of views among commission members and attendees, it was decided that the issue of the Virtual Business Association’s lack of elections and the ambiguity surrounding its trade union status would be pursued by the Tehran Chamber through correspondence with the Ministry of Industry, Mines, and Trade.
Continuing the session, Mehrdad Miresmaeili, a board member of the Telecommunications Industry Syndicate, analyzed the latest economic situation in this industry in Iran. He emphasized that the telecommunications industry in Iran lacks favorable conditions in terms of revenue generation and equipment modernization. If operator revenues do not increase and prices are not updated in line with global rates and the country’s per capita income, the telecommunications industry will face a serious crisis in the coming months.
Miresmaeili further highlighted that the exodus of capital from this industry, driven by its lack of profitability and the exit of private companies, poses a significant challenge. This issue has exacerbated the migration of specialized human resources from the industry, as the inability to pay high salaries has intensified the brain drain.
He pointed out that the one-year income of operators is insufficient to cover current expenses, let alone investments in 5G and FTTx. Additionally, the capital market’s share of this industry has fallen from being the largest with around 30% of the total stock market value, worth $17 billion, to 32nd place with a value of less than 1% of the total stock value, approximately $1.2 billion—less than 10% of its initial value.
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