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Attention: Dot Coms "The Internet boom may have turned to bust in the West but in Iran consumers are only just staring to sample life online. Iran
today is more welcoming toward business investment than at any time
in the 22 years since the revolution. True, state organizations
and religious charities control an estimated 80% of Iranian economic
activity, but Tehran also harbors a humming stock exchange that
is watched by hundreds of Iranians as a kind of spectator sport.
It even has hundreds of Internet startups. Of course, prohibitive
taxes and a suspicious, nationalistic bureaucracy are tremendous
obstacles. While Iran remains at an impasse with the U.S., which
could be a huge source of investment, private businesses are putting
down some surprisingly healthy roots. In Iran; Pockets of Progress
ran's entrepreneurs are forging ahead.
The number of Internet users in this country of nearly 73 million stands at 330,000 by Pyramid Research estimates and grows by nearly 30% every six months. Internet Cafˇs offering broadband access had been widely used by younger segments of the population to make low-cost telephone calls to relatives and friends abroad via Voice-Over IP (VoIP) services. Sources in the government-owned Telecommunications Company of Iran (TCI) confirmed that international long-distance revenue has fallen somewhat in recent months....more |
