Damascus, July 5 (SANA)Zain will launch mobile telecommunications services inSyriawithin six months of receiving its operating license, with commercial operations expected to begin in early 2027, the country’stelecommunicationsregulator said.

Khaled al-Homsi, director general of the Telecommunications and Post Regulatory Authority, said the 20-year renewable license was awarded for $747 million, with an additional $10 million paid in first-year optional spectrum fees.

According to al-Homsi, the project is expected to attract around $800 million in direct and indirectinvestmentover the next seven years, bringing the total value of investments associated with Syria’s second mobile operator to more than $1.5 billion.

He said Syria’s sovereign wealth fund will hold a 25% stake in the operating company, whileZain Groupwill own the remaining 75%.

Al-Homsi said the new operator is expected to expand nationwide mobile coverage, improve service quality, introduce 5G technology, accelerate digital transformation, create jobs and strengthen competition in the telecommunications sector.

He said the regulator is pursuing a dual strategy of deploying standalone 5G networks while upgrading existing 4G infrastructure to support next-generation services, with the gradual retirement of 2G and 3G networks.

Al-Homsi said the project forms part of a broader effort to modernize Syria’s telecommunications infrastructure, including major fiber-optic and international connectivity projects aimed at improving internet services and supporting reconstruction.

Among the projects is the Silk Link initiative, developed in cooperation withSaudi Arabia‘s STC, with planned investments of nearly $1 billion. The complementary Barq Net project will extend fiber-to-the-premises (FTTP) services to homes and businesses through a 4,500-kilometer fiber-optic backbone linked to an international submarine cable.

Al-Homsi said the infrastructure projects are intended to improve Syria’s investment climate and support partnerships with global technology companies in data centers anddigital services, with the goal of positioning the country as a regional digital hub linking East and West.

Syria’s Ministry of Communications and Information Technologyannounced on June 30 that it had selected Zain Group as the country’s second mobile network operator.