TEHRAN - Iran has proposed the launch of a “Global Digital Resilience Corridors Initiative” under the auspices of the International Telecommunication Union, calling for the development of overland fiber routes to complement the submarine cables that carry most international data traffic.
Behzad Akbari, Deputy Minister of Information and Communications Technology and chief executive of Iran’s Telecommunication Infrastructure Company, presented the proposal at a high-level thematic session on resilience held on the sidelines of the ITU Plenipotentiary Conference 2026 (PP-26) in Doha.
Addressing the growing role of digital connectivity in daily life, the economy and public services, Akbari said existing approaches to the resilience of communications infrastructure needed to be reconsidered.
While the bulk of international data traffic travels through submarine cables, he said terrestrial fiber optic networks could provide valuable complementary routes for international communications.
Connecting national fiber networks at border crossing points, Akbari explained, would make it possible to establish international land corridors offering more direct connections, lower latency, better quality of service and greater diversity of routes.
He pointed to West Asia’s geographic position between the large digital markets of Asia and Europe, describing the region as well placed to play a role in developing such corridors.
Akbari argued that the resilience of a country’s digital infrastructure is not confined to that country alone. Strengthening it, he said, can contribute to the resilience of neighboring states, the wider region and the global communications network.
He also called for cooperation to extend into data center infrastructure, cloud services and cybersecurity, saying this would require broader cross-border collaboration, joint investment and operational agreements between countries and operators.
Outlining the proposed initiative, Akbari said it would focus on three areas: linking countries’ existing fiber optic networks, developing terrestrial corridors alongside submarine cables on a sustainable economic and commercial basis, and coordinating the use of alternative routes when major disruptions occur.
Countries, he stressed, do not have to choose between improving connectivity quality under normal conditions and strengthening resilience during a crisis, but can pursue both objectives at the same time.
Noting that Iran operates an extensive fiber optic network and shares borders with 16 countries, Akbari announced that the country is prepared to share its infrastructure to help connect regional and global digital ecosystems and strengthen the resilience of communications and digital services.
Concluding his remarks, he called for a shift beyond traditional forms of cooperation in the communications sector toward the creation of shared digital infrastructure.
Just as countries have interconnected their infrastructure for trade and economic growth, he said, the time has come to connect with one another to deliver better services and achieve shared resilience.
The ITU Plenipotentiary Conference, the union’s highest decision-making and policy-setting body, is being held in Doha from November 9 to 27, 2026, convening every four years to set the organization’s strategies and priorities.
Iran’s proposal follows a preliminary trilateral agreement reached earlier in the conference with Turkmenistan and Kazakhstan on a regional digital corridor designed to link Central Asia to the Persian Gulf.
Details of that arrangement are still being negotiated, with a final accord expected in the near future.