Editing Telecommunications in Syria

{{Short description|none}} <!-- "none" is preferred when the title is sufficiently descriptive; see [[WP:SDNONE]] -->
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2021}}
The [[Ministry of Communications and Technology (Syria)|Syrian Ministry of Communications]] retains governmental authority over the internet in [[Syria]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.moct.gov.sy/moct/?q=ar |title=وزارة الاتصالات والتقانة |access-date=15 August 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130820050013/http://moct.gov.sy/moct/?q=ar |archive-date=20 August 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Prior to the [[Syrian civil war]], '''telecommunications in Syria''' were slowly moving towards liberalization, with a number of licenses awarded and services launched in the Internet service provision market. The initiative reflected the government's change in attitude towards liberalization, following its promise to the [[European Union]] to liberalize markets by 2010. All other forms of fixed-line communications are provided by the state-owned operator, [[Syrian Telecom]] (STE).<ref name=IWS-Syria/>

== Telecommunications system ==
[[File:Syria and Lebanon Telecommunications - DPLA - d4166390a2e125facd917abc445a024a.jpg|thumb|right|Telecommunication map of Syria, 1949]]
'''[[International dialing code]]''': +963<ref name=BBC-Syria>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/country_profiles/801669.stm "BBC Syria country profile"], ''BBC News'', 7 August 2012</ref>
{{Further |Telephone numbers in Syria}}

'''[[landline|Landline telephones]]''' in use: 2.821 million (2021 est.).<ref name="CIAWFB-Syria">{{Citation |title=Syria |date=2024-07-03 |work=The World Factbook |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/syria/ |access-date=2024-07-05 |publisher=Central Intelligence Agency |language=en}}</ref>

'''[[Cellphone|Mobile phones]]''' in use: 16.991 million (2021 est.).<ref name=CIAWFB-Syria/> The mobile operators are [[Syriatel]], [[MTN Syria]], and [[Wafa Telecom|Wafa]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-02-21 |title=Syria awards third mobile telecoms licence to Wafa -state media |url=https://www.euronews.com/next/2022/02/21/syria-telecoms |access-date=2024-07-05 |website=euronews |language=en}}</ref> There is mobile phone coverage in most parts of Syria providing access to 96% of the population. Call quality ranges from good to acceptable. Many international calls fail or are less clear over the mobile network compared to the landline network.
{{Further |List of radio stations in Syria}}
'''[[Radio]]:''' 14 AM, 11 FM, and 1 shortwave stations in 1998. The radio operators are the state owned Syrian Arab Republic Radio and [[Al-Madina FM]], the first private radio station, launched in March 2005.<ref name=BBC-Syria/> Other private radios are for example: Melody FM, Sham FM, Radio Arabesque, Mix FM Syria, Rotana FM, Fuse FM, Farah FM). Private radio stations can also transmit news or political content.

{{Further |Television in Syria}}
'''[[Television]]:''' There are three television operators: the state owned [[Syrian Television| ORTAS]] which operates five satellite channels ([[Syria TV]], [[Syrian News Channel]], [[Syrian Drama TV]], [[Syrian Education TV]], [[Noor Al-Sham]]), broadcasting in [[Arabic]], [[English language|English]], and [[French language|French]] and the private TV Stations like [[Sama TV]] or [[Massaya TV]]. There are no restrictions on the use of satellite receivers and many viewers watch pan-Arab TV stations.<ref name=BBC-Syria/> Roughly two-thirds of Syrian homes have a satellite dish providing access to foreign TV broadcasts.<ref name=CIAWFB-Syria/>

Opposition satellite stations broadcast from abroad; they include London-based [[Barada TV]], [[Orient TV]], which operates from the [[UAE]], and Istanbul-based [[Syria TV (Turkey)|Syria TV]].<ref name=BBC-Syria/>

==Internet==

'''[[Country code]]''': The top level domain for Syria is [[.sy]].

There were 8,500,000 Internet users in Syria as of March 2021 for a 46.5% Internet penetration rate.<ref>[http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats5.htm "Internet Usage in the Middle East"], Internet World Stats, 31 March 2021</ref> Syria ranks 13th out of 14 countries in the Middle East region, just behind [[Iraq]] (59.6%) and ahead of Yemen (25.9%). The growth of Internet users has been rapid since 2016: <ref>[http://www.internetworldstats.com/stats5.htm "Internet Usage in the Middle East"], Internet World Stats, 31 March 2021</ref><ref name=IWS-Syria>[http://www.internetworldstats.com/me/sy.htm "Internet Usage and Marketing Report: Syria"], Internet World Stats, 2010</ref>

::{|
!Year&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; !! Internet users !! &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;% of population
|-
|2000 
| align=right | 30,000 
| align=center | 0.2%
|-
|2002 
| align=right | 220,000 
| align=center | 1.2%
|-
|2005 
| align=right | 800,000 
| align=center | 4.2%
|-
|2009 
| align=right | 3,565,000 
| align=center | 16.4%
|-
|2010 
| align=right | 3,935,000 
| align=center | 17.7%
|-
|2011 
| align=right | 4,469,000 
| align=center | 19.8%
|-
|2016
| align=right | 5,502,250
| align=center | 29.6%
|-
|2021
|align=right | 8,500,000
|align=center | 46.5%
|}

The internet first appeared around 1998. 35 organs of the Syrian government by July 1998 were connected to the internet.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://cbs.com/prd1/now/template.display?p_who=network&p_story=63093|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/19980713001251/http://cbs.com/prd1/now/template.display?p_who=network&p_story=63093|url-status=dead|archive-date=1998-07-13|title=Net Arrives in Syria (Slowly)|work=[[CBS News]]|date=1998-07-10|access-date=2020-01-20}}</ref>

There were 420 Syrian Internet hosts in 2010, placing Syria 187th out of 231 in the world.<ref name=CIAWFB-Syria/>

With a measured download speed that averages 4.60 Mbit/s in May 2024, the speed of the Internet in Syria is relatively slow as it ranks 179 out of 181 in terms of speed.<ref>{{Cite web |date=May 2024 |title=Syria - Speedtest Global Index |url=https://www.speedtest.net/global-index/syria |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240705114654/https://www.speedtest.net/global-index/syria |archive-date=2024-07-05 |website=Speedtest.net}}</ref>

[[ADSL]] service in [[Syria]] has been available since 2003.<ref>[http://newsfromsyria.com/2007/01/16/broadband-internet-comes-to-syria/ "Broadband internet comes to Syria"], Syria News Wire, 16 January 2007</ref> However, ADSL is not available in all locations and, where available, the local telco may not have enough ports for immediate activation. Through 2009 broadband Internet access had reached less than 0.2% of the Syrian population.<ref>[https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0B-14eY3gwnmGYjVkYjIxYTQtMjQxNy00OTIxLWFlN2YtNDIwZWYzYWZlZjVk&hl=en_US "Worksheet 3: Broadband"], Richard Heeks, Google Docs, 16 September 2010</ref><ref>[http://ict4dblog.wordpress.com/2010/09/16/global-ict-statistics-on-internet-usage-mobile-broadband-1998-2009/ "Global ICT Statistics on Internet Usage, Mobile, Broadband: 1998-2009"], Richard Heeks, ICT4DBlog, 16 September 2010</ref>

[[3G]] wireless Internet is available in all major cities as well as cities with significant tourism. [[2.5G]] [[EDGE (telecommunication)|EDGE]] wireless Internet is available through mobile network operators, SyriaTel and MTN. Wireless Internet is accessed using a [[USB stick]] purchased from the mobile operators. In addition, 3G [[SIM card]]s for use on mobile phones may be purchased with a data plan. However, only [[WCDMA]] phones support data at the moment. SyriaTel and MTN provide 4G cover.<ref>{{cite web |last1= |first1= |title=Wireless internet coverage in Syria (MTN) |url=https://www.nperf.com/en/map/SY/-/223653.MTN-Mobile/signal?ll=20&lg=0&zoom=3 |website=npref |publisher= |access-date=15 June 2024 |ref=}}</ref><ref name="renamed_from_8_on_20240615212043">{{cite web |last1= |first1= |title=Wireless internet coverage in Syria (SyriaTel) |url=https://www.nperf.com/en/map/SY/-/223652.Syriatel-Mobile/signal?ll=20&lg=0&zoom=3 |website=npref.com |publisher= |access-date=15 June 2024 |ref=}}</ref>

High-speed Internet is also available through many [[Internet cafes]].

===Internet service providers (ISPs)===

[[ISP]]s in Syria include:
* Aya ISP
* E-Lcom ISP
* View ISP
* INET
* Nas
* Omniya
* Runnet
* ZAD
* Lema
* Waves
* ProNet
*Takamol
* SCS-Net

===Internet censorship===
{{update section|date=September 2022}}
{{Main |Internet censorship in Syria}}
Internet filtering in Syria was found to be pervasive in the political and Internet tools areas, and selective in the social and conflict/security areas by the [[OpenNet Initiative]] in August 2009.<ref name=ONI-Syria>[http://opennet.net/research/profiles/syria "ONI Country Profile: Syria"], OpenNet Initiative, August 2009</ref> Syria has been on [[Reporters Without Borders]] Enemy-of-the-Internet list since 2006 when the list was established.<ref name=RWBEnemies>[http://en.rsf.org/internet-enemie-syria,39779.html "Internet Enemies: Syria"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110518055039/http://en.rsf.org/internet-enemie-syria%2C39779.html |date=18 May 2011 }}, Reporters Without Borders, March 2011</ref> In 2009, the Committee to Protect Journalists named Syria number three in a list of the ten worst countries in which to be a blogger, given the arrests, harassment, and restrictions which online writers in Syria have faced.<ref>[http://www.cpj.org/reports/2009/04/10-worst-countries-to-be-a-blogger.php "10 Worst Countries to be a Blogger"], Committee to Protect Journalists, 30 April 2009</ref>

Syria has banned websites for political reasons and arrested people accessing them. In addition to filtering a wide range of Web content, the Syrian government monitors Internet use very closely and has detained citizens "for expressing their opinions or reporting information online." Vague and broadly worded laws invite government abuse and have prompted Internet users to engage in self-censoring and self-monitoring to avoid the state's ambiguous grounds for arrest.<ref name="ONI-Syria"/><ref>{{cite news|url= http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3824595.stm|title= Syrian jailed for internet usage|date= 21 June 2004|work= BBC News}}</ref>

In February 2011 Syria stopped filtering [[YouTube]], [[Facebook]], and [[Twitter]].<ref>{{cite web|date=8 February 2011|url=http://www.dp-news.com/pages/detail.aspx?articleid=73458|title=الغاء الحجب عن موقع "فيسبوك" في سورية (Syrian government abolishes bans on "Facebook" and "YouTube")|language=ar|publisher=D Press News|access-date=23 September 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190220204436/http://www.dp-news.com/pages/detail.aspx?articleid=73458|archive-date=20 February 2019|url-status=dead}} ([http://www.google.com/translate_c?langpair=en&u=http://www.dp-news.com/pages/detail.aspx?articleid=73458 English translation])</ref>

[[Voice over Internet Protocol]] ([[VoIP]]) is blocked completely and requires a proxy or [[Virtual Private Network]] ([[VPN]]) to work around it.<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=l6ry0NeJ1N8C&dq=VoIP+blocked+syria&pg=PA12 "Measuring Global Internet Filtering"], Robert Faris and Nart Villeneuve, in ''Access denied: the practice and policy of global Internet filtering'', Ronald Deibert (ed), OpenNet Initiative, 2008</ref> However, VoIP operators that utilize non-standard [[Session Initiation Protocol]] (SIP) ports may function behind Syria's proxy.

[[Internet cafes]], which are widespread and accessible to the public for a fee, can be used to access blocked sites.<ref name="ISN2008">{{cite web|author=Institute for War and Peace Reporting|date=3 June 2008|url=http://www.isn.ethz.ch/isn/Current-Affairs/Security-Watch/Detail/?ots591=4888CAA0-B3DB-1461-98B9-E20E7B9C13D4&lng=en&id=88422|title=Syrian youth break through internet blocks|access-date=1 February 2010}}</ref> However, more restrictions have been placed on internet cafes, all public internet centers need operating approval from the security services, are required to keep detailed records of their customers' surfing habits, and people have been arrested after accessing blocked content.<ref>[http://www.thenational.ae/news/worldwide/middle-east/syria-tightens-control-over-internet "Syria tightens control over internet"], Phil Sands, ''The National'' (Abu Dhabi), 30 September 2008</ref>

=== Shutdown of Syrian Internet ===

In 2012, it was reported that all Internet connectivity between Syria and the outside world appeared to have ceased, as of 29 November 2012. This coincided with reported intense rebel activity inside Syria.<ref>{{cite web |last=Thomson |first=Iain |title=Syria cuts off internet and mobile communications |url=https://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/11/29/syria_internet_blackout/ |work=The Register |access-date=29 November 2012 |date=29 November 2012}}</ref> [[Matthew Prince]], CEO of [[Cloudflare]], reported that three [[undersea communication cable]]s in Tartous, Syria and a fourth land cable through [[Turkey]] were connecting Syria to the internet prior to the event.<ref>
[https://abcnews.go.com/blogs/headlines/2012/11/internet-blackout-in-syria-as-airport-shuts-down/ "Internet Blackout in Syria as Airport Shuts Down"], Alexander Marquardt, ''ABC News'', 30 November 2012.</ref>
However, according to an August 2014 interview with [[Edward Snowden]], the Internet blackout in Syria was related to a failed attempt by the [[U.S. National Security Agency]] (NSA) to infiltrate [[malware]] on a core router of one of the country's main [[Internet Service Provider]]s (ISPs).<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Bamford |first=James |title=Edward Snowden: The Untold Story |url=https://www.wired.com/2014/08/edward-snowden/ |magazine=Wired |access-date=16 August 2014 |date=14 August 2014}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist |30em}}

{{Syria topics}}
{{Asia topic|Telecommunications in}}
{{Telecommunications}}

[[Category:Telecommunications in Syria| ]]
[[Category:Internet in Syria| ]]