 Syria - Telecoms, Mobile, Broadband and Forecasts
Executive summary
Syria has the most regulated telecoms sector in the Middle East and one of the least developed. This has resulted in a country where there is strong growth potential if the rules were to be relaxed. News reports of coming change continue but as yet nothing has happened.
Fixed-line services remain the monopoly of state-owned Syrian Telecommunications Establishment (STE). STE is investing in upgrading and extending its network and aims to gain 100% coverage by end-2013. Fixed-line subscriber numbers are still rising and although penetration rates are low, they are higher than in many more wealthy Middle Eastern countries.
STE is also investing in Syria's very limited international infrastructure. Syria is linked to Cyprus by the UGARIT submarine cable, a 239km cable that began operating in 1995, with designed transmission capacity limited to 622Mb/s. STE and the Cypriot Communications Authority (CYTA) have agreed to expand the cable and increase Internet capacity and have also undertaken to establish a second undersea link. In addition, a land cable connecting Syria, Turkey, Jordan and Saudi Arabia is expected to come online in mid-2010.
Mobile penetration rates are relatively low - Syria is one of the few markets in the region with room for expansion. Two Build-Own-Transfer (BOT) operators, Syriatel and MTN Syria, provide mobile services. Syriatel is locally owned and MTN is a subsidiary of MTN of South Africa, which gained ownership through its purchase of Investcom. There have been continual reports that both Syriatel and MTN Syria will be sold, with Turkcell of Turkey and Zain of Kuwait cited as likely buyers, among others. Both operators would prefer to convert their BOT contracts into regular mobile operator licences not least because of the high royalties (50% of revenue) that they are required to pay to the Syrian government. A tender for a third mobile licence has been much talked about and would be very attractive to the regional major operators such as Zain or Qatar's Qtel but it has yet to eventuate.
Syriatel has launched 3G and HSPA services but high prices restrict services only to a very few subscribers.
Internet penetration is low and broadband penetration very low. The government exercises strict Internet censorship with many sites, including Facebook and YouTube, blocked in addition to websites critical of the Syrian government. Broadband services are expensive and difficult for a residential user to subscribe to, with ADSL in Syria reported to be the least affordable in the Middle East. However there are no restrictions on receiving the multitude of DTH satellite TV channels available in the Middle East.
Syria remains a market with great potential for expansion but requires much market liberalisation to achieve that potential.
Market highlights:
International infrastructure is undergoing substantial improvement.
A third mobile licence is being talked about.
Table of Contents
1. Executive summary
2. Key statistics
2.1 Country overview
3. Telecommunications market
3.1 Overview of Syria's telecom market
4. Regulatory environment
4.1 Background
4.2 Regulatory authority
4.3 Telecom sector liberalisation in Syria
4.4 Interconnect
5. Fixed network operator in Syria
5.1 Syrian Telecommunication Establishment (STE)
6. Telecommunications infrastructure
6.1 National telecom network
6.1.1 Network improvements
6.2 International infrastructure
7. Broadband access market
7.1 Overview
7.1.1 Censorship
7.1.2 Internet and broadband statistics
7.2 Broadband subscriber forecasts
7.3 ISP market
7.3.1 Major ISPs
7.4 Wireless broadband
8. Digital economy/digital media
8.1 Overview
8.2 Services
8.2.1 E-government
9. Digital broadcasting
9.1 Overview of broadcasting market
10. Mobile communications
10.1 Overview of Syria's mobile market
10.1.1 Mobile statistics
10.2 Mobile subscriber forecasts
10.2.1 Scenario 1 - higher growth
10.2.2 Scenario 2 - lower growth
10.2.3 Notes on scenario forecasts
10.3 Regulatory issues
10.3.1 Third mobile licence
10.3.2 Current BOT contracts
10.4 Mobile technologies
10.4.1 3G
10.5 Major mobile operators
10.5.1 Syriatel
10.5.2 MTN Syria
10.6 Mobile voice services
10.6.1 Prepaid
10.6.2 Satellite mobile
10.7 Mobile broadband
11. Related reports
Table 1 - Country statistics Syria - 2010
Table 2 - Telephone network statistics - 2009
Table 3 - Internet user statistics - 2009
Table 4 - Broadband statistics - 2009
Table 5 - Mobile statistics - 2009
Table 6 - National telecommunications authorities
Table 7 - GDP growth and inflation - 2005 - 2011
Table 8 - STE Revenue by sector - 2005 - 2007; 2009
Table 9 - Fixed lines in service and teledensity - 1995 - 2011
Table 10 - Internet user and penetration rate estimates - 1999 - 2011
Table 11 - Internet subscribers and penetration rate - 1999 - 2009
Table 12 - ADSL subscribers - 2004 - 2009
Table 13 - Mobile subscribers and penetration rate - 1999 - 2011
Table 14 - Mobile operators, subscribers and annual change - 2009
Table 15 - Forecast mobile subscribers in Syria - higher growth scenario - 2014; 2019
Table 16 - Forecast mobile subscribers in Syria - lower growth scenario - 2014; 2019
Table 17 - Syriatel - Revenue by segment - 2008 - 2009
Table 18 - MTN Syria: Subscribers - 2006 - 2010; ARPU - 2003 - 2010; outgoing MOU - 2006 - 2009;
Table 19 - MTN market share of pre and postpaid subscribers - 2007 - 2008
|
|
Digital Media - E-Education & E-Science
Synopsis
The Internet and associated Web 2.0 technologies has further broadened the quality and possibilities for remote education and the ‘virtual cl... Digital Media - Online Video Media
Synopsis
Online video is becoming recognised as a powerful format for both communicating online and providing an enhanced online experience. The succe... Global - Analysis - Government Infrastructure Policies as Economic Stimulus
The financial crisis has led to a major rethink on how the various political, social and economic systems operate. Instead of repairing broken systems... Global - Mobile Data - GPRS, EDGE, HSCSD
This report discusses the technologies that are being used to bridge the gap between the well established 2G and the much vaunted 3G, the so-called 2˝... Global - WiMAX - Overview & Statistics
BuddeComm's analyses of the 2008 WiMAX market finds that the future of WiMAX remains in niche markets and emerging markets. There may be some good fix... Global - Wireless Broadband - LTE
In 2009 the growing wave of support for LTE continues and WiMAX is being viewed more and more as a niche technology suitable for only some markets. In... Global - Wireless Broadband - Next Generation Mobile Networks (NGMN)
WiMAX and LTE have emerged over the last couple of years as the most likely candidates for Next Generation Mobile Networks. In 2009 LTE has gained str... Technology - Infrastructure - Long Distance 2 - Fibre Modulation Amplification and 40Gbs
This report discusses lasers, modulation techniques and the two major optical amplification techniques: and distributed Raman and Erbium Doped Fibre A... Technology - Internet 2 - TCP, UDP
TCP/IP's UDP send and forget ‘datagram' packets and TCP error-corrected two-way ‘pipes' are explained. The 4 billion IP address range is divided into ...
|
