Dr. Zarepour: Granting Independence in social media needs national determination

Dr. Isa Zarepour , Minister of Communications and Information Technology , visited Mashhad’s ICT Park and the central post office building on Saturday , November 20 , 2021 . In this visit, Dr. Mohammad Jafar Sadigh Damghanizadeh , the Advisor and President of the Park ; Dr. Ehsan Chitsaz , Deputy of ICT Park’s Market Development; and a number of other Media representatives were present . 

Dr. Isa Zarepour , Minister of Communications and Information Technology , considered the development of the communicational infrastructures in the country’s villages as the goal of this visit . He stated: “One of the main tasks in the 6th Grand Plan for the development of the country is that the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology should link 80% of the villages with more than 20 families to the National Information Network (National Internet) by the end of 2021. This task is currently being carried out but with a little hesitation.”

He continued: “at present, about 80 percent of the country’s villages are connected to the high-speed internet network, and the remaining villages are located in the remote and barely passable areas, will be connected to the high - speed internet network by 2022, in accordance with the scheduled plans.”

The Minister of Communications and Information Technology emphasized: “we should use the communicational infrastructures for developing the rural economy, so that we can market the achievements and advantages of the village and activate the village’s digital economy on   the grounds of the communicational network.”

He considered Mashhad ICT Park’s infrastructure as an ideal model for Digital Content Production in the country and stated: “this system has different capabilities and the Startup companies can use the system in different sections such as Animation, Computer Games, and Start-up activities. To act in the Cyberspace Environment and development of such activities, the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology supports the country’s youth. In this field, there are several  good potentials.”

Emphasizing the use of domestic capacities, Mr. Zarepour remarked: “also, by relying on the existing domestic capacity, it is possible to produce rich and attractive contents for use in the country’s Cyberspace. Thereby, the rich Islamic - Iranian culture is introduced to other countries in the world.”

The Minister of Communications and Information Technology continued: “the hardworking specialist forces in this Complex have managed to create many capacities and to turn an unused place in the body into a dynamic set. Therefore, it is appropriate to develop such bodies in the country. The lack of information and propaganda for activities in the Park along with the lack of Marketing for delivering services to the consumers should be considered.”

About the National Information Network, he noted: ““the National Information Network” does not mean a severance of ties with the World Internet Network, but rather it aims to create a strong domestic network with many capacities to provide cyberspace services within the country. The development of the National Network of Information needs time. Due to the rise in the foreign currency exchange rates and sanctions, the operators faced difficulties. To develop the National Network of Information we need voluntary work and reliance on the domestic power. At present, a great number of capable companies have localized many of the network devices.”

In the end, Mr. Isa Zarepour visited various divisions of Khorasan-e–Razavi‘s Post Office Administration such as the Intelligent Postal Exchange and Processing Center.

It should be noted that the Country’s Information and Communications Park, since June of this year, has begun its operation in an area of 6,000 square meters , on the 4th floor of the Post Office Administration of Khorasan-e-Razavi Province. There are 14 information technology companies capable of 55 Start-up functions located in the Park, two of which are accelerators. The Park, as the Digital Development Center, is active in Content Production and Export, Cloud Services (information storage), and security. Additionally, the establishment of the Park has created jobs for 2,500 people.