Story perspectives

Iran Unveils Costly “Internet Pro” Tier, Sparks Outcry

5/10/2026

Summary

Story summary

Iran launched “Internet Pro,” granting a few unrestricted global access while most remain on a filtered network.
A one-year 50-gigabyte package costs about 2 million toman, with activation fees of 2.8 million toman and gigabytes at roughly 40,000 toman.
NetBlocks estimates the outage costs Iran over $2.6 billion, with daily losses between $250 million and $3 billion.
Nurses’ union, lawyers and the Psychiatric Association condemned the tiered system.
President Masoud Pezeshkian’s office called the system unfair.

History

Historical Context

In 1998 China launched the Great Firewall as part of the Golden Shield project, blocking foreign sites and shaping a domestic internet market; a 2020 study counted roughly 311,000 blocked domains. By 2024 Iran introduced the “Internet Pro” system that mirrors this tiered filtering, prompting watchdogs to warn that the model deepens digital inequality worldwide.

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Story summary

Iran launched “Internet Pro,” granting a few unrestricted global access while most remain on a filtered network.
A one-year 50-gigabyte package costs about 2 million toman, with activation fees of 2.8 million toman and gigabytes at roughly 40,000 toman.
NetBlocks estimates the outage costs Iran over $2.6 billion, with daily losses between $250 million and $3 billion.
Nurses’ union, lawyers and the Psychiatric Association condemned the tiered system.
President Masoud Pezeshkian’s office called the system unfair.

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