Telecom boost Numbers for Syria’s STE Skyrocket

The Syrian Telecommunications Establishment, a state-owned body holding a monopoly over Syria’s landline network announced a marked surge in revenues in 2006, owing to a 13.7% hike in subscriber numbers and 13.9% in network capacity over the previous year. Mosbah Shalash, STE director of planning and regulatory affairs attributes the boom to a “controversial plan to slash subscription costs by 70% and international call fees by 60%,” which generated a surplus of SYP800 million ($15.7 million). Crackdown on corruption In what appears to be another new leaf being turned over in Syria’s reform efforts, a crack-down on corruption has witnessed the dismissal of STE’s director general, Haitham Shidiyaq, for setting up a joint venture with an NGO for commercial purposes. The landline network, responsible for 59% of the 2006 profits, is the main source of income for STE, whose revenues rose by 28% from 2005, to SYP51.7 billion ($1.01 billion).