BBC News Online reports on the mobile phone frenzy currently gripping Tehran as another tranche of government-issued SIM cards goes on sale.

The mobile network here is a nightmare.

Unlike in many countries you can't just walk into a shop and buy a local SIM card and slot it into your mobile. You have to know someone who knows someone who can get you access to Iran's creaking cellular network.

It took me two days before I managed to find someone willing to rent me their SIM card -- at vast expense -- for the duration of my stay.