The effort to bring the internet to Iran date back to 1987. At the time, the internet (also called ARPANET) was a project supported by the Defense Advanced Projects Agency (DARPA), connecting various academic and defense research centers in the U.S.. This network supported only email and simple data transfer. A similar network supported by IBM was known as BITNET. In Europe, only universities and academic centers were connected to the European Academic Research Network (EARN) which was part of the BITNET network.
Iran’s entrance into the internet was then spearheaded by IPM and its deputy director, Dr. Siavash Shahshahani. The link was at first through the BITNET network and Iran’s membership in EARN (which developed later to the Trans-European Research and Educational Networking Association - TERENA). It consisted of a single 9600 baud leased line to the University of Vienna in Austria in January 1992.
The first email from Iran was a simple greeting from IPM’s director, Dr. Larijani, to Vienna University administrators. The link later developed into a full-fledged Internet link with the assignment of 500 IP addresses to the country and acceptance of Iran as a Class C node. Primary users of the connection at first were academics and research institutions, all being served through their own connections to IPM.
Neda Rayaneh Institute (NRI), Iran's first commercial provider, comes online, connecting via satellite to Cadvision, a Canadian provider. In 1993 Iran became the second country in the Middle East to be connected to the internet.