Iran updates Caspian connectivity project

Iran’s Telecommunication Infrastructure Company (TIC) clarified details of a recently launched Russia-Iran-Azerbaijan venture to improve connectivity in the Caspian Sea region.

At the end of November,  private company Iran Mobin formed a 50/50 equity joint venture with C-Ring Telecom, a shared venture of Russian long-distance operator Synterra and Azerbaijan’s AzTelekom, to collaborate on the planned rollout of a new fiber-optic ring around the Caspian Sea.

The project is aimed at handling Europe-Asia voice and data transmission and improving Internet service delivery in the Caspian region.

TIC told TeleGeography that Iran Mobin will use the backbone to connect to the C-Ring network. Russian and Iranian state and company officials signed joint venture documents at a trade and economic cooperation summit in Tehran, while TIC also signed an agreement with another Russian carrier, Rostelecom, to share international transmission links.