ALEPPO, Syria — In front of his shop window, damaged by airstrikes, Ahmed sat on a wooden chair, so taken with having access to the Internet on his phone that he did not notice Al-Monitor’s correspondent walk into the store. He cast a shy smile and said, “We have become so addicted to the Internet that we can no longer let go of it.”
In the neighborhood of al-Mashhad, as in most of Aleppo’s rebel-controlled areas, wireless networks are widespread. In different parts of the city, a phone will detect dozens of available networks.