General Inspection Organization of Iran has cast doubts on the privatization of the Telecommunications Company of Iran (TCI), saying some uncertainties exist in the deal.
The GIO has prepared a report on the doubtful points and submitted to related bodies in the Article 44 Parliamentary Committee for further investigation, according to the Mehr News Agency.
Based upon Iran''s Constitution, the GIO is in-charge for regular controlling and supervising executive bodies, military and disciplinary forces, state-run institutions and companies, municipalities and their subsidiaries, public notary chambers, foundations of public utility, revolutionary organs, and institutions whose financial resources totally or partially belong to the government.
Three Iranian firms, part of a consortium named Etemad Mobin Development, bought 50 percent plus one share of Telecommunication Company of Iran for 78.191 trillion Iranian rials (US$7.8 billion) on September 20, 2009.
The importance of this deal is that TCI has monopoly over Iran''s fixed line infrastructure, Iran''s largest cellular operator (MCI), and Iran''s major Internet service provider and data communication operator (DCI).