Before traveling to the Islamic Republic of Iran, there are a lot of things to consider. One of which is the available prepaid phone plans in the country. As of today, The Islamic Republic of Iran has four GSM and 3G prepaid phone operators, the Irancell Telecommunications Services Company (MTN IRANCELL), Rafsanjan Industrial Complex (Coop) (Taliya), Mobile Telecommunications Company of Esfahan (MTCE) and MCI (Iran Telecom). The mobile prefix for the Islamic Republic of Iran is +98. Their currency, 1 Iranian Rial (IRR) = 0.00007474 Euro. The electricity available is 230 V with and electrical frequency of 50 Hertz. Time Zone is UTC +3.30.
The first available prepaid phone operator in the Islamic Republic of Iran is the Irancell Telecommunications Services Company or most commonly known as MTN Irancell. MTN Irancell is owned by the South African based MTN Group. The company was founded in 2005 and considered as a joint business venture governed by the Commercial Code of the Islamic Republic of Iran. MTN Irancell is a telecommunications company that operates on GSM 900/1800, and is the first prepaid phone operator to provide GPRS and MMS services to its subscribers. Currently, MTN Irancell stands as the second largest mobile communications company in the Islamic Republic of Iran.
The prepaid phone card name for MTN Irancell is called “Pay as you go.” The activation fee for this prepaid phone card is available upon request. The validity of the card is unlimited upon its activation. The net frequency for MTN Irancell is GSM 900/1800. The logo for this prepaid phone card is MTN Irancell while its net code is 432 35. Pay as you go offers calls from Monday to Sunday: calls to MTN for IRR 620 and other calls for IRR 852. To check the available credit, dial *140*1# (free of charge).
Additional Services and Costs:
Messaging:
- National SMS – IRR 160
- International SMS to Afghanistan, Vietnam, Cuba, Suriname, French Guyana, Reunion, French Antilles, Wallis and Fortuna Islands – IRR 1,000
- Other international SMS – IRR 1,500
- MMS – IRR 320
Voicemail: Free of charge
Data Calls: IRR 15/KB
International Calls:
- Zone 1 (All the countries of the world other than those set out in Zone 2 and Afghanistan) – Saturday to Thursday from 8AM – 9PM for IRR 3,840 and Saturday to Thursday from 9PM – 8AM for IRR 3,720
- Zone 2 (Vietnam, Cuba, Suriname, French Guyana, Reunion, French Antilles, Wallis and Fortuna Islands) - Saturday to Thursday from 8AM – 9PM for IRR 10,080 and Saturday to Thursday from 9PM – 8AM for IRR 9,900
- Afghanistan - Saturday to Thursday from 8AM – 9PM for IRR 4,470 and Saturday to Thursday from 9PM – 8AM for IRR 4,560
Debiting Method: 1/1
MTN Prefixes: 0935-xxx-xxxx (prepaid) and 0936-xxx-xxxx (postpaid)
Recharge/Credit/Validity: Every Pay as you go user just need to send/receive a call/SMS or refill every 90 days to keep the number active.
IRR 50,000/47,170
IRR 100,000/94,340
IRR 200,000/188,680
MTN Irancell also offers another prepaid phone card called “Data Sim.” This prepaid phone card is only capable of data and messaging only. Voice calls cannot be made or received with this special prepaid phone card. Data Sim has good rates for GPRS as well as for messaging, see here.
Second on the list of prepaid phone operators in the Islamic Republic of Iran is called Taliya. Taliya was founded in 2004 and considered as the third largest mobile communications company in the Islamic Republic of Iran. It is owned by the Rafsanjan Industrial Complex (Coop). They are the first independent prepaid mobile network in Iran using state of the art technologies from Siemens. As of today, Taliya has 2 million subscribers under a build-operate-transfer contract between Rafsanjan and the Telecommunication Company of Iran (TCI).
The prepaid phone card name for Taliya is also called “Taliya.” The activation fee and validity of this prepaid phone card is available upon request. The net frequency for Taliya is GSM 900. The logo for it is Taliya and its net code is 432 32. Taliya offers calls from Saturday to Thursday: local calls from 8AM – 9PM for IRR 670, local calls from 9PM – 8AM and Fridays for IRR 536, long distance calls from 8AM – 9PM for IRR 1,117 and long distance calls from 9PM – 8AM and Fridays for IRR 804.
Additional Services and Costs:
Messaging: SMS – IRR 160
Voicemail: Same rate as the local voice calls
International Calls:
- Zone 1 (All the countries of the world other than those set out in Zone 2 and Afghanistan) Saturday to Thursday from 8AM – 9PM for IRR 3,033 and Saturday to Thursday from 9PM – 8AM and Fridays for IRR 2,899
- Zone 2 (Vietnam, Cuba, Suriname, French Guyana, Reunion, French Antilles, Wallis and Fortuna Islands) - Saturday to Thursday from 8AM – 9PM for IRR 7,865 and Saturday to Thursday from 9PM – 8AM and Fridays for IRR 7,731
- Afghanistan - Saturday to Thursday from 8AM – 9PM for IRR 3,716 and Saturday to Thursday from 9PM – 8AM and Fridays for IRR 3,582
Recharge/Credit:
- IRR 106,000/100,000
- IRR 212,000/200,000
- IRR 424,000/400,000
Third available prepaid phone operator in the Islamic Republic of Iran is the Mobile Telecommunications Company of Esfahan or MTCE. The company was established in 1981 with the participation of Malaysia Technology Company, Telecommunication Company of Estahan provinces and the Islamic Republic of Iran’s long distance telecommunications industries company. Its first series Symkarthay Calling code can be distributed in 0931. In 1987, MTCE introduced the WiMAX technology that provide wireless communications service. Until now, the company offers services through BS and full equipment core network that includes ASN Gateway, Edge router, AAA server and broadband Internet.
The prepaid phone card name for MTCE is called “Espadan.” The activation fee and validity for the card is available upon request. The net frequency for MTCE is GSM 900. The logo for it is MTCE and its net code is 432 19. Espadan offes calls from Saturday to Thursday: local calls from 8AM – 9PM for IRR 670.50, local calls from 9PM – 8AM and Fridays for IRR 537, long distance calls from 8AM – 9PM for ORR 1,140 and long distance calls from 9PM – 8AM and Fridays for IRR 804.
Additional Services and Costs:
Messaging: To activate SMS service, pay IRR 20,000 for the first SMS
SMS – IRR 160.5
International Roaming: International roaming service available, see here.
Iran Telecom or MCI is the fourth prepaid phone operator available in the Islamic Republic of Iran. The company has the biggest coverage throughout the Islamic Republic of Iran and with approximately 30 million subscribers. The telecommunications company is also considered as the first established wireless network in the country. The net frequency for Iran Telecom is GSM 900/1800. The logo for this prepaid phone operator is Irantelecom and its net code is 432 11.
Unfortunately, Iran Telecom’s website doesn’t explain anything about their postpaid or prepaid phone plans.