ParsOnline is one of the most important and valued
sponsors of SAF. Most of the schools and educational centers within the
SchoolNet network have access to the internet via the Pars Online Network.
Mr.Abdollah Fateh is the managing
director of ParsOnline and a member of the SAF board. This is an interview with
him:
SAF: What is
the mission of ParsOnline?
Abdellah Fateh: "Pars Online was
established 8 years ago in 1999; at that time, we provided our customers with
email and dial up services. From the beginning, our aim was to create a National
Telecommunication Network. Our focus from the start was to build infrastructures
and not get involved with content.
Fortunately the ITC's (Iran
Telecommunication Company) policy of outsourcing data communication to
non-governmental companies helped us on our way. Pars Online currently has the
following licenses from ITC:
1. ISP (Dial Up Services)
2. ISDP
(Dedicated bandwidth distribution)
3. VoIP (Voice over IP services such as
long distance calling cards)
4. PAP (DSL Services)
5. WiMAX (Wireless
Broadband Services)
6. SAP (Satellite Communication Services)
7. IDC
(Internet Data Center)
After building the network, we
realised the need for a National Data Center in order to keep local traffic
within Iran and not have to send all of our customers? Internet requests abroad.
Our Data Center is located in Pardis Technology Park near Boom-e-Hen, northwest
of Tehran. We currently have over 1,600 square meters of floor space available
for hosting and collocation services.
We believe that with this final
license we can position ourselves as a national data communication provider and
provide any infrastructure requirement that our customers in Iran might have.
SAF: In how
many cities can individuals or companies make use of your
services?
Abdellah Fateh: "We provide services for home users,
companies and institutes in 34 cities in 21 provinces in Iran. We currently have
over 100,000 ports installed in the network in more than 200 telephone exchanges
across the country.
SAF: When and
how did you start your collaboration with SAF?
Abdellah Fateh: "The
first time we gave internet connection to SAF was on 4th of September 2001 (6
years ago). I had been introduced to Dr.Tabesh and Prof. Edalat and through them
we came to know SAF, its activities and projects. Ever since then, we have
worked closely with SAF and have been eager to cooperate with it. Our first DSL
connection to SAF was 3 years ago."
SAF: Could you
please explain your role as one of the main sponsors of SAF?
Abdellah
Fateh: "We believe in the SAF mission and believe that several groups coming
together to accomplish a goal as a team will be more effective than each
individual group trying to go their own way."
SAF: What have
you done in educational field?
Abdellah Fateh: "One of our long term
objectives is to build and start a Pars Online Academy, which will be focused on
teaching IT related topics on a mostly e-learning platform. We hope to be able
to differentiate our e-learning platform by ensuring that our students do spend
at least a few hours a week in a classroom environment and not complete their
whole curriculum behind a computer.?
SAF: What
services can ParsOnline offer schools? Do you have any special plans that could
affect student knowledge and help their learning process?
Abdellah
Fateh: "As I mentioned from at the beginning, we are focused on building
infrastructures and therefore do not have the ability to offer any sort of
content or applications for the educational system. Our services can be based on
either providing connectivity or hosting services in our data center.?
SAF: Do you
have cooperation with any other charitable institutions? Could you name some of
them?
Abdellah Fateh: "Yes, we do. We support the Mahak Hospital for
children with cancer, Kanoon Koodak, which is a foundation that helps pupils who
cannot pay for their education and several other charities focusing on special
diseases."
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