The “Toushe” project, which has recently been launched, has provided users with the ability to receive and transfer video, text, and other digital content mostly available on the internet through a satellite channel of the same name to their computers. This method of sending and receiving information has been launched for the first time in the world by the Toushe project team and is available to Persian-speaking users.

In this regard, the monthly magazine “Khat-e-Solh” has conducted an interview with Mehdi Yahyanejad, the project manager of “Toosheh”, and has attempted to answer many questions that are raised for the audience. Mehdi Yahyanejad has received his PhD in physics from the University of MIT and has been involved in research work in this field for years at reputable universities and scientific centers. Mr. Yahyanejad is also the founder of the website “Balatarin”.

If you want to summarize the pitch for our readers in a few sentences, how would you define it?

Tooshi is a new technological platform that is currently specifically available for audiences inside Iran; however, it has the potential to expand to other countries as well. Tooshi allows individuals and users to receive web content through their satellite receivers; a one-way system for accessing content that is not normally accessible due to reasons such as slow speed, high cost, censorship, and users’ internet connection not allowing them to receive it.

Based on this, it has come up with a solution and targeted these few goals with one arrow, to help meet the needs of users – currently, those who speak Farsi – or at least assist in addressing them.

How do you send information and how do recipients receive it?

We have a television network on the Yahsat satellite, and if someone visits this network, they will only see the logo of Toosheh along with brief instructions on how to record this program and download files. But behind that image, all of our content is being transmitted without the viewer seeing it.

To receive and use it, the only thing that is needed is to connect a USB flash drive to their receiver and tune it to our channel. After recording the program of this channel for about an hour, they connect the USB to their computer and use the Toushe software to convert the file that was recorded from the receiver to all the content that we have sent, in other words, it will be zipped and packed. In fact, until they connect this flash drive to their computer and convert and open the files, they will not be able to see the content of the files.

Is Tousheh an Iranian project or independent? Does it mean that it is dependent on another organization or government, or is it simply the result of collective efforts of civil activists with a focus on Iran?

Toushe is an independent project and a large number of individuals with various backgrounds, including engineering and those who are active in the field of freedom of information and the internet, have contributed to this project. Toushe is also not affiliated with any specific government or country.

Is Toosheh only available for citizens inside Iran or can anyone with a satellite, especially Persian speakers, use it anywhere in the world?

Currently, individuals living in countries such as Afghanistan, Tajikistan, or countries bordering the Persian Gulf can access this content, but in the future, we will also provide our own special channel with digital content tailored to those countries. Our plan is to strengthen our project and expand our network to countries like Syria and areas where internet access is expensive due to rural areas – such as India or even countries in North Africa.

Of course, currently our area of activity is in Farsi and is designed for Farsi speakers. If we decide to send Arabic content to Arabic-speaking countries and citizens, we will probably have to use a different satellite. However, its technology will remain relatively constant and some specifications can be increased or decreased, but the basic function of the satellite and receiver is to transmit digital content.

In fact, due to the fact that the basis of this project is a satellite, wherever the satellite or other satellites have coverage and receivers, our content is receivable.

Is Toushe the same as an internet suitcase? If not, is this type of data transmission being used for the first time in the world?

Tosheh is neither internet nor a suitcase and has no relation to that project; it is another project. Tosheh is a way of distributing digital information; just like CDs and DVDs are methods of distributing information, or the internet is a method of distributing digital information. Tosheh is a completely new method and it can be said that this technology has been created for the first time and it is done through satellites and receivers that exist in homes. The content also does not necessarily have to be internet-based and it can be content that comes from other places. In summary, the distribution method is digital content that does not exist elsewhere in technology.

It may be necessary to mention that similar technologies that exist, all require another hardware and are not compatible with regular and home receivers.

Can recipients choose to record files they want or don’t want before downloading and adjust their download speed and volume accordingly?

Currently, this is not possible, although our researchers are working on it. The system is currently one-way, where the user can only receive the selected content. Of course, after receiving the content and bringing it to their computer, they have the choice of which one to use, but at the recording stage, there is currently no option for selection and the user must record everything within an hour and a half.

We are predicting the possibility of categorizing files with higher and lower sizes, so that if this happens, the user will likely have the option to receive a larger number of files in the same amount of time.

On what basis do you select the files and content to send?

The space and volume of information that we can send is so large that we can almost send all the Persian content that is published daily in written and visual form to the audience.

Therefore, the team that collects our content, as mentioned, does not have much limitation in terms of volume. However, because we provide content for a specific audience, we try to ask our users through research, such as questionnaires, to suggest what they would like to see. In fact, we use a variety of methods to make the content we send appealing to our audience. Of course, Persian-speaking audiences have different interests; one may be more interested in political and human rights issues, which fortunately there are resources for on the internet and we send them, and another may be looking for entertainment and educational resources. As a result, our team focuses on all of these topics that have been raised so far and strives to make the content of this database richer day by day.

How often do you update the downloadable package? Are the files deleted after a certain period of time after uploading, or is it always possible to save them?

Currently, it is only once a day, but since it was requested by users, we send the previous day’s package along with the new package every day so that if someone is unable to record it – in the form of a replay – they can receive it the next day. This is the current model, but it may change in the future, depending on the opinions of users and the amount of content we provide.

The package that is being sent takes about one to two hours and is repeated throughout the day. For example, if a person cannot record this package in the morning, they can record it at night. Currently, there is no mechanism in place for the user to receive the content if they were not able to record it during these two days (which I explained is presented in a broadcast and replay format), unless we do something like repeating them monthly or weekly, which has not been done yet because it has only been about a month since we announced this project publicly. We mostly want to hear from our audience what they need and are currently conducting a survey.

Do satellite parasites affect the quality and ability to receive satellite signals and is it possible for them to make file reception impossible?

The advantage of Yahsat satellite is that it is perpendicular to Iran, and for this reason, it cannot be affected by parasitic interference – unlike other satellites that may have been widely used in the past. However, if in some cases, parasitic machines target people’s satellite dishes, our channel will definitely not be immune to parasitic interference. Nevertheless, the major difference our channel has in this particular case is that the user does not see any visual disturbance on their television screen that would prompt them to change the channel. The user can also connect their USB to the receiver and start recording in the same situation, although it may be necessary to spend three hours instead of one to record the entire content without any damage. In the end, they receive the package, which is the major difference with channels that are based on visual content.

Since we repeat content throughout the day, even if there is a lot of interference, as mentioned, it only results in longer recording time. This technology is designed in a way that the parts that were not received properly due to interference can be repaired with continuous recording. This can help if there was interference for several hours during the day, at least the files can be repaired and deliver intact content to the user.

What is your overall goal for this effort and what are you trying to achieve?

Our main goal is to provide and facilitate access to information for people, as there are obstacles in this regard in Iran and even in other countries. These obstacles are related to issues such as slow internet speed, infrastructure, and government censorship. A system like Toosheh provides the possibility for attractive information to be accessible to the audience for free and without any cost, regardless of censorship and other problems. I believe this is the main goal and foundation of the project we are working on.

Unfortunately, due to lack of sufficient investment in the field of internet and severe censorship, Iran, despite having a highly educated population thirsty for new information, has a significant gap with many countries in terms of access to the internet. We often communicate with people from Tehran and other major cities and easily forget that many Iranians do not have access to high-speed internet or if they do, they face issues such as censorship. All of this is happening while many Iranians have access to satellite and satellite networks. Therefore, the system we have provided offers access to this digital content for many individuals who are currently struggling with these issues. It also reduces dependence on the internet so that if the government decides to cut off or slow down the internet for any reason, there is another way to disseminate information to the people.

The majority of satellite owners in Iran use the services of individuals known as “installers” to set up their satellite and its channels. Do you have an educational program that teaches how to add a new channel for a household user for free? If so, how can interested individuals access this program?

Fortunately, our team has designed guidelines for users to know what to do step by step. These guidelines are available in the form of a low-sized video file, which is posted on our Telegram channel every once in a while, as well as a visual PDF file and frequently asked questions on our website. In case of website filtering (which has recently happened), for easier access, the user can simply send an empty email to the address:

“[email protected]”

Send this file and whatever is necessary to be sent to him/her.

Another point is that most people who have satellite in Iran also have access to Yahsat because currently, most popular Persian language channels – both news and entertainment – are on this satellite, which has less interference. For example, BBC Persian, Manoto, Gem and Farsi1 are all on Yahsat and anyone who wants to watch these channels means they have Yahsat and in fact, we are also on the same satellite and the user just needs to find our channel frequency through their receiver and then start recording.

Can using a torrent – whether it is a designed software or for receiving signals and downloading files – pose security risks for users?

There is no security threat; because our system is designed in a way that sending information is one-way and the user can save any content or video from another channel on their USB, and with the same mechanism that we have hidden the file on it, it records and then transfers the video to their computer.

We also have network security experts and we work with software experts who consider digital security for users to be very important; therefore, there is no security issue, but part of the problem is also the user’s trust in the system. So far, more than 25,000 people have downloaded our software and we have not received any complaints or reports that my system has been damaged. In addition, we will soon send the signed version of our desktop software to users, and that signature is a stamp of approval for its security; meaning that this software comes from a reliable source – which is actually the Toushe team. Therefore, if another strange version is released in the next few months, which has been done by other people, users can consider this issue for comparison and receive the valid version and use it.

How has the reception been for Toshah so far? Do you have any statistics on the usage of Toshah?

The reality is that the reception that has taken place has surprised us; we didn’t expect it and maybe we weren’t prepared for it. So far, we have received about a thousand emails in the support section, with various contents such as questions and suggestions, and we have to answer each of them, which really requires a lot of work.

So far, more than 5,000 people have joined the Telegram channel and considering that this channel only sends daily programs and has no other use, it shows that at least 5,000 people are interested in seeing what our daily programs are so they can try to download them.

Based on these evidence, so far we have received a very good reception and our goal is to increase awareness about this so that everyone who has a satellite and is interested in this content, can hear about it and start using it.

Similarly, Toushe has been well received by various institutions, and these institutions have provided us with their video or PDF content for us to add to our daily packages. These contents include educational, human rights, and even technology-related materials, all of which we have included in our program.

What is your vision? Are there other facilities to be added to it?

From a technological standpoint, we want to allow people to receive this content through their mobile phones and by connecting it to a receiver, without the need for home computers and laptops. In fact, our goal is to minimize the things needed for this process.

Apart from this goal, we wanted to show and have shown that in Iran and similar societies, which unfortunately have become isolated and disconnected from the world for various reasons, there are ways to break the barriers that hinder communication, and we must establish better connections through these ways. We hope that others will also contribute and find similar ideas or other ideas to break down these barriers so that anyone, anywhere in the world, can easily access up-to-date information in any field and no one can stop them.

In addition, we also aim to expand the network of publishers we work with in terms of content. Regardless, if our goal is to provide the user with more information – whether it be about critical thinking or even entertainment content – this will benefit the user by allowing them to access a wider range of publishers and content. Therefore, we welcome all program producers, both Persian and non-Persian speakers, who want to come and work with us to reach a larger number of Persian speakers with their content.

Thank you for your explanations and the time you have given us in the Khat-e-Solh magazine.