TELECOM · COMPANY
Zain Syria
A new entity awarded the national mobile licence on 30 June 2026 in place of MTN Syria. Not yet operating; commercial launch targeted for Q1 2027.
Telecom Index 4 sourced indicators of 15
Mobile operator
Sources
No data
Investment and technology are Zain's own commitments, so official for those. Spectrum holdings are not stated beyond a USD 10m optional first-year fee; the identity of the 25% Syrian government shareholder is not named in the sources seen.
Sources
Licences
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National mobile licence
Initial rollout targeting over 98% population coverage, investment of more than USD 800m over ten years, and a six-month transition from MTN Syria preserving service for 6.3 million subscribers. A USD 10m optional first-year spectrum fee sits on top of the consideration.
Sources
Method
Term recorded as 20 years with an optional five-year extension, which is the regulator's own phrasing. Some trade press renders the same licence as "25-year" by folding the extension into the base term; where a secondary source and the regulator disagree on the terms of the regulator's own instrument, the regulator wins.
No data
The licence text itself has not been read — everything here is from the regulator's statement about it. Spectrum bands, coverage milestone dates and penalty terms unsourced.
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Projects
Developments
Regulator: Zain to launch within six months
Regulator director general Khaled al-Homsi sets out the licence terms and the transition window.
Zain Syria network buildSyrian Telecommunications and Post Regulatory AuthorityZain Syria
SANA, quoting Syrian Telecommunications and Post Regulatory Authority director general Khaled al-Homsi Sourced
Zain awarded the national mobile licence
A 20-year renewable licence for USD 747m, with investment of more than USD 800m over ten years and a six-month transition preserving service for 6.3 million subscribers.
Zain Syria network buildZain SyriaZain GroupMTN SyriaSyrian Telecommunications and Post Regulatory Authority