MTN Syria
Mobile operator in Syria that started as Areeba and has about 6.3 million subscribers. Its licence was replaced in 2026 when Zain won a tender and plans to launch Zain Syria in the first quarter of 2027.
Industry: Mobile telecommunications | Location: Damascus, Syria | Founded: 2002
About MTN Syria
MTN Syria is a mobile network operator in Syria. TelecomLead reports that it started as Areeba and received a mobile licence alongside Syriatel in 2001; Wikipedia gives its founding date as 29 June 2002, and TechScoop dates MTN's entry to 2002. Wikipedia lists its headquarters as Damascus and its services as GSM, 3.5G, 4G and broadband. TelecomLead says South Africa's MTN Group later became the majority shareholder, while Wikipedia says MTN Group decided in 2020 to sell its 75 per cent stake to TeleInvest, a Saudi-owned company that already held 25 per cent.
MTN Group announced in August 2020 that it planned to leave the Middle East, according to Connecting Africa. Developing Telecoms says MTN had operated in Syria for more than two decades and stopped operating there in 2021. In March 2026 MTN and the Syrian government formalised an agreement on MTN's exit, reported after MTN Group chief executive Ralph Mupita met communications minister Abdulsalam Haykal at Mobile World Congress in Barcelona. Terms were not disclosed.
On 3 March 2026 the Ministry of Communications and Information Technology launched an international tender for a new 20-year mobile licence to replace the MTN Syria licence, which Connecting Africa describes as combining an existing operating business with a long-term concession to build mobile infrastructure across Syria.
On 1 July 2026 Developing Telecoms and TelecomLead reported that Zain Group of Kuwait had won the tender with a bid of 747 million US dollars for a 25-year licence, made up of 20 years plus a five-year extension option. Zain will hold 75 per cent of a new operating company, Zain Syria, and a Syrian government entity 25 per cent. Zain plans to invest more than 800 million dollars over ten years in 5G and AI-powered services, and to launch the Zain Syria brand in the first quarter of 2027 subject to approvals.
The network serves about 6.3 million subscribers. A six-month transition period will see Zain work with the ministry and the existing MTN team so that services continue. Syriatel is the other mobile operator in the market.