3.1.6.2 Urban Communications

Along with the increase in the number of villages under service, urban communication has also shown considerable growth. The number of regions with a city code increased from 1,748 in August 1997 to 2,005 in August 1998, which shows about 14.7% increase. On the other hand, the number of cities which are equipped with inter-city telephone lines increased from 384 in 1991 to 750 in 1998. Table 3.9 shows the number of cities with inter-city phone lines for four sample years.

 

Table 3.9: Number of cities equipped with inter-city telephone lines in Iran.

Year	Number of Cities
1978	70
1986	218
1991	384
1998	750

 

Another indicator for assessing the status of urban communications in Iran is the percentage of the main lines in urban areas. Table 3.10 shows this percentage for a period of five years. Considering the total number of main lines in operation, as given in Table 3.2, the total number of urban main lines and the corresponding growth rate can be explicitly obtained.

 

Table 3.10: Percentage of urban main lines in Iran.

Year	% of Urban Main Lines
1991	97.60
1992	95.51
1993	94.05
1994	88.00
1995	87.00
1996	92.00

 

As another indicator, Table 3.11 shows the number of main lines in Tehran, as the largest city, for the period 1991-1996.

 

Table 3.11: Number of main lines in Tehran as the largest city in Iran.

Year	Number of Main Lines
1991	735,125
1992	881,721
1993	1,043,404
1994	1,241,045
1995	1,478,030
1996	1,615,276