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Iran\u2019s deepening internet crisis<\/a> now threatens to push millions further into digital isolation, as the clerical dictatorship\u2014already notorious for restricting online access to curb free information\u2014seeks to impose steep new charges on basic connectivity. Irancell, the country\u2019s second-largest mobile operator, warned that without a 70 percent tariff increase, Iran may soon face daily internet blackouts lasting up to three hours, crippling businesses and livelihoods dependent on online transactions.<\/p>\n Alireza Rafiei, CEO of Irancell, said<\/a> on August 17, 2025, that the company has formally requested tariff hikes: \u201cIf tariffs are not adjusted, operators will lack the capacity to invest, and improving internet quality will be impossible. We must expect that, just as we have daily power cuts, there will be three-hour internet blackouts each day.\u201d<\/p>\n Costs for electricity and imported equipment have soared, while prices for services remain unchanged. \u201cElectricity costs have multiplied in recent years, and equipment\u2014entirely dependent on foreign currency\u2014rose by about 40 percent in just the past year,\u201d Rafiei told reporters<\/a>. Frequent power cuts, he added, prevent the recharging of batteries at network sites, meaning some facilities are effectively shut down around the clock.<\/p>\n #Iran<\/a>\u2019s Digital Apartheid: Regime Loyalists Flood the #Internet<\/a> While the Rest of the Nation Goes Darkhttps:\/\/t.co\/qFQw7Bi9wc<\/a><\/p>\n — NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) June 20, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n