Baku, Azerbaijan, Dec. 18
By Umid Niayesh - Trend:
More than 70 percent of people of Tehran watch banned satellite channels, Iran's culture minister, Ali Jannati said, IRNA news agency reported on Dec. 17.
He also criticized the jamming of some Satellite channels, noting that it "will not be practical" in the future, when "almost 2000 TV channels will be available on mobile devices."
"There is a necessity for today's field of science and technology to examine how we should counter with the negative affections of such TV networks," the minister added.
Jannati cited a ban on VHS players in the 80's, calling it ridiculous.
He said: "Maybe in five years we will laugh at today's actions."
He urged authorities to work towards finding a solution to this problem.
Later in September, Iranian president Hassan Rouhani criticized the bans on satellite receiver antennas in Iran, saying that banning is an idea that belongs to the past, adding that "all people in the world, including those in Iran have access to satellite TV channels."
He added that, his administration targets free access of Iranian people to information.
Over the past years, Iranian authorities have jammed foreign satellite channels, especially VOA and BBC Persian services.