TELECOM · TIMELINE
Timeline
How Syria's telecom sector got here, from the first mobile licences to the rebuild now under contract.
Telecom Index 4 sourced indicators of 15
The two earlier eras are deliberately sparse. Umran records what it can source, and the documentary record for Syrian telecom before December 2024 is thin — padding it with dates taken from secondary summaries would make this page look more complete and be less reliable. Several entries carry a placeholder day within a known month; each says so in its own note.
8 December 2024 is the baseline every Umran figure is measured from. Nothing before it is credited as recovery.
Before 2011
Syriatel founded
One of Syria's two mobile operators is founded.
MTN Syria founded as Areeba
The second operator enters the market as Areeba, later becoming MTN Syria.
War years, 2011–2024
MTN Group sells its remaining stake in MTN Syria
The 75% stake passes to TeleInvest, part of Dallah Al-Baraka, ending the South African group's presence in the Syrian market.
Political transition — the index baseline
The date every Umran figure is measured from. No progress in the sector is credited to anything before it.
After December 2024
Abdulsalam Haykal appointed Minister of Communications and Information Technology
He succeeds Hussein al-Masri, who had held the ministry since 10 December 2024.
Ministry of Communications and Information Technology
Ministry of Communications and Information Technology Sourced
Ministry launches the SilkLink project
The project goes to tender, drawing stc, Zain, Etisalat and Ooredoo.
SilkLink — national fibre backboneMinistry of Communications and Information Technology
Ministry of Communications and Information Technology Sourced
Ministry launches Barq Net
A nationwide fibre-to-the-premises project on a public–private partnership and an open-access model separating infrastructure from services. The two-year clock on connecting 85% of homes and institutions runs from this date.
Barq Net — fibre to the premisesMinistry of Communications and Information Technology
SANA — Ministry of Communications and Information Technology statement Sourced
Barq Net request for information closes
The RFI covers all 14 governorates on a VULA-based wholesale model.
Barq Net — fibre to the premisesMinistry of Communications and Information Technology
Ministry of Communications and Information Technology — Barq Net portal Sourced
5G pilot begins in Damascus
The minister announces 5G entering pilot stage, with later expansion "gradually and carefully" and no date attached.
5G pilot in DamascusMinistry of Communications and Information Technology
+963 Media, reporting the minister at AI-Syria 2025 Reported
Minister sets out the split: SilkLink the backbone, Barq Net the last mile
The minister says SilkLink phase one completes within six to eight months, and that FTTH and fixed wireless access are under test in Damascus.
SilkLink — national fibre backboneBarq Net — fibre to the premisesMinistry of Communications and Information TechnologySyrian Telecommunications Establishment
SilkLink implementation agreement signed with stc Group
A joint venture 75% stc Group and 25% Syrian Sovereign Fund, to build more than 4,500 km of fibre and a submarine cable landing station at Tartus.
SilkLink — national fibre backboneSilkLinkstc GroupSyrian Sovereign Fund
Five Saudi–Syrian agreements worth more than USD 5.3bn, SilkLink among them
SilkLink was signed inside a package spanning aviation, telecoms, infrastructure and water desalination. This is the frame the sector's financing sits in: telecom is a line in a larger package, not a standalone deal.
SilkLink — national fibre backbonestc GroupSyrian Sovereign Fund
International tender launched to replace the MTN licence
Announced at MWC Barcelona, with completion scheduled for 15 June 2026.
Zain Syria network buildMinistry of Communications and Information TechnologySyrian Telecommunications and Post Regulatory Authority
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
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
Sources on this page
- Trade press
- Zain Group press release
- SANA
- Saudi Press Agency
- SANA
- +963 Media, reporting the minister at AI-Syria 2025
- Ministry of Communications and Information Technology — Barq Net portal
- SANA — Ministry of Communications and Information Technology statement
- Ministry of Communications and Information Technology
- Umran — Recovery Index baseline