Iranians may have found it easier to send a photo message or make a video call on their smartphones this week.
The government granted 3G and 4G licenses to the country's two most prominent mobile operators last week, according to The New York Times. This allowed the carriers to open high-speed connections to tens of millions of subscribers. Previously, Iran had ordered the main mobile operators to reduce Internet speeds that made access to sites such as Twitter and YouTube nearly impossible.
Iranian president Hassan Rouhani also called upon the country's clerics, who make most of the governing decisions, to get on board with the new technologies. The conservative coalition has always resisted because they believe greater access would "spread immortality and unwanted ideas," according to the Times.
"We cannot shut the gates of the world to our young generation," Rouhani said in a speech broadcasted on Iranian television Monday. "Once, there was a time that someone would hide his radio at home, if he had one, to use it just for listening to the news. We have passed that era."
A leading ayatollah, Naser Makarem Shirazi, stated his opposition to the new 3G licenses the day before Rouhani's speech. He doesn't oppose all technology, but he does stand against the "Western technologies" that are like "muddy unhygienic water," a post reads on his website. "Water is the source of life yet when it is dirty it must be refined."
Social media use came under fire after Iranian protesters used the social networks to address their opposition to the 2009 presidential elections. The government soon blocked web sites and cell phone transmissions to slow the "Green Revolution" or "Twitter Revolution."
The filtering and blocking of websites will continue. The faster Internet speeds also are not guaranteed to stay. The other ruling powers in Iran's government want Rouhani to "fix the economy and cut a nuclear deal with the West" before any social changes are made, according to the Times.
