MTN Irancell

Company type	Semi-private
Industry	Mobile network operator
Founded	2005; 19 years ago (2005)
Headquarters	Tehran , Iran
Area served	Nationwide
Key people	Bijan Abbasi Arand (CEO)
Products	Mobile broadband services, and TD-LTE fixed wireless broadband services
Website	irancell.ir

MTN Irancell, also known as Irancell, is an Iranian telecommunications company that operates Iran's largest 2G-3G-4G-4.5G-5G mobile network, and fixed wireless TD-LTE internet services. As of 2013, Irancell holds a revenue of 4.9 billion dollars. It is the 32nd largest company in Iran. Currently, MTN Group holds a 49% percent stake in the Irancell consortium, while Kowsar Sign Paniz (KSP) holds the other 51% of shares.

On 3 December 2014, Irancell officially launched Iran's first 4G LTE network in nine cities.^[1] The License was granted as on a national basis and includes the overall geographical coverage of Iran. Irancell was officially launched on 21 October 2006 in Tehran, Tabriz, and Mashhad. The network provides the subscribers with an advanced generation of GSM system to enable them to get used of EDGE (2.75 G).

Irancell made countrywide coverage with FD-LTE and TD-LTE. As of December 2021, Irancell has 50.4 million active subscribers.^[2] Irancell, the company, has been able to receive the "Special Digital Public Relations Award" and the "National Award for Excellence in Public Relations in Electronic and Virtual Communications." According to this report, the company has achieved high scores in the seventeenth edition of the International Public Relations Symposium and the eighteenth edition of Iran's Best Public Relations Awards.^[3]

Shareholders

Irancell

Controversy

Sanctions

According to Reuters, the company was able to obtain banned U.S. technologies despite imposed sanctions against Iran.^[4]

Sunni insult and boycott

In July 2013, Iran's Sunni community which is the second-largest religious group, accused the company of insulting caliph Umar after he was called "deceived by the Devil" in a competition's question. People in predominantly Sunni Provinces Kurdistan and Sistan & Baluchestan boycotted the company and a Sunni MP voiced their anger in a parliamentary session. Irancell later apologized for the 'unintentional mistake'.^[5]

Mobile web pricing

After Irancell doubled the prices for its mobile web services in December 2014, some angered users started protesting the company via the social media. Subscribers decided to hold a boycott on the company and remove their SIM cards altogether on 31 December 2014.^[6]

Subscribers' privacy leak

Irancell has been criticized for its privacy policy. In July 2016, a robot known as MTN Bot leaked data on personal information of millions of Irancell subscribers on Telegram. Irancell did not pledge responsibility for the leakage and accused its rivals for the turmoil caused by the news. On 3 July 2016, Minister of Communications Mahmoud Vaezi told that the data was leaked by an intelligence agent when Irancell handed subscribers' data to an anonymous intelligence agency in Iran upon an inquiry in 2014.^[7]

Ad injection

In November 2017, Minister of Communications Mohammad Javad Jahromi warned Irancell over its ad injection.^[8]