Syria’s internet reboot takes shape amid outreach to Gulf telecoms
The new government is taking steps to rapidly overhaul one of the world’s most troubled internet systems by working with Gulf telecoms to build a new fiber-optic network.
From launching a 5G trial to boosting outreach to Gulf telecom giants, Syria’s new government is taking steps to overhaul one of the world’s most troubled internet systems amid new openings created by recent sanctions relief.
A milestone came on June 15, when Syria’s new minister of communications and information technology, Abdulsalam Haykal, announced BarqNet, a project to deliver fiber internet access across the country, with a goal of connecting 85% of Syrian homes and institutions within two years.
BarqNet follows the launch of SilkLink, a broader plan to modernize the country’s digital infrastructure and integrate its communications network within the surrounding region, which Haykal announced in May.
These new projects center on using public-private partnerships to develop a fiber-optic network that would offer faster internet connections than traditional copper wire connections or wireless systems. Where fiber can’t be delivered, BarqNet aims to offer fixed-line wireless.
