Campaign for Cheaper Mobile Calls Founders

A recent civil society campaign to convince the state communications company to slash the cost of mobile phone calls has failed, according to a June 1 article in the pro-government Syria News website.



The website quoted Raouf Al-Eid, an official at the official Syrian Telecommunication Authority, who argued that the prices of mobile phone calls in Syria are on a par with those in other Arabic countries.



Since 2001, two private companies – Syriatel and MTN Syria – have been providing mobile phone services on behalf of the telecommunication authority under a 15-year contract.



In the past week, an electronic petition was widely circulated on local websites and forums to boycott the use of mobile phones for one day, on June 1, in order to pressure the phone companies to lower the cost of calls.



According to the website, the agreement between Syriatel and the Syrian government prevents the company from reducing tariffs.



The website said that 50 per cent of mobile phone bills are collected by Syriatel, quoting an unnamed source close to the telecoms company, which is owned by Syrian tycoon Rami Makhlouf.



In Syria, the cost of a mobile call is calculated by the minute, rather than by the second, as it is done in most other countries, said the website.



Calls cost between 9 and 13 US cents per minute. Mobile phone users also pay a monthly subscription fee of around 9 US dollars.