The influence of telecenters on rural life and their success correlates: Lessons from a case study in Iran

New information and communication technologies (ICTs) are fast becoming an inevitable and necessary part of rural development projects in Asian countries. Since 2004, about 10,000 Rural ICT Offices have been opened in Iran to improve the lives of those living in rural communities. This research aimed at investigating the influence of the Mazijan ICT Office on the lives of villagers and its success correlates. Data was collected through archival records, observations, structured face-to-face interviews with 210 users, semi-structured face-to-face interviews with the office operator, and six local officials and leaders. Findings were contrasted with the literature to provide more generalized lessons. Results revealed that the Mazijan office was successful in some aspects especially in reducing the need for travels, but not successful in creating job opportunities. Significant positive relationships were found between users' ICT literacy, satisfaction with the services and extent of using services with the extent to which their lives were influenced by the office. The main lessons for promoting the success of telecenters included careful considerations to be given to rural ICT capacity building, improvement of rural telecommunication infrastructures, and providing multiple low-cost and financially viable services.