Last updated: 20 Mar 2025 Update History
Report Status: Current
Report Pages: 100
Analyst: Henry Lancaster
The rapid advance of a coalition of rebel groups which ousted President Bashar al-Assad in December 2024 was widely welcomed both nationally and internationally. It resulted in the removal of the malign influence of the regime’s backers Iran and Russia, and, more positively still, the partial lifting of some sanctions which had been imposed against the regime by the US and European Union. A new transitional government was installed in January 2025, though while it has stated its intention to improve telecom services, there remain significant challenges. Not least is the considerable destruction to infrastructure accumulated since the civil war erupted in 2011, compounded by an electricity supply which, when functioning, is intermittent. Infrastructure destruction and low investment has meant that Syria can unenviably boast of having very low mobile broadband penetration and the third lowest mobile data rate globally.
The cost of internet services is very high in proportion to the average income, a situation exacerbated by several price rises imposed by the former government in 2023 and 2024. Although over the years the major mobile service providers Syriatel and MTN Syria have endeavoured to restore and rebuild damaged networks, the operating environment has been difficult. Government-owned Syriatel was almost exclusively concerned with operating in government-controlled areas of the country, while MTN Syria found the environment and government demands for back taxes too exhausting, and so MTN Group exited the country in August 2021 after its majority stake in the local unit had been transferred to judicial guardianship. While MTN Syria continues to operate, this effectively meant that the mobile market became a monopoly in many areas, with Syriatel as the only functioning operator. Nevertheless, in February 2022 the regulator awarded a third mobile licence, to Wafa Telecom, following a process which had been ongoing for many years. This licencing procedure, too, has been contentious since Wafa Telecom was granted the exclusive right to provide services based on 5G (with no commercial service yet having been launched) and the company itself has ties to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard and was seen as a vehicle by which Iran could expand its footprint, and influence, in the country.
Telecommunication services in Syria remain highly regulated, with stringent government censorship restricting access to social media platforms and communication tools. The poor economy and political fragility do not yet provide a climate conducive to much needed foreign investment, though since the beginning of 2025 the prospects for such investment have improved considerably.
Syrian Telecommunication Establishment (Syriatel, STE), MTN Syria, Wafa Telecom
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