Deir Ezzor – Obadah al-Sheikh

Residents of the countryside of Deir Ezzor, under the control of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES), are suffering from weak internet connectivity and poor service, coinciding with rising internet package prices.

The weakness of the networks is due to the allocation of internet frequencies to military sites and the offices of the Civil Council affiliated with AANES.

The interruption of internet service since the beginning of this month has caused discontent among network users, amid the absence of any clarifications from the telecommunications institution affiliated with the Deir Ezzor Civil Council.

On November 12 of this month, AANES set the price of the internet from local distributors (service providers) at eight dollars for each megabyte.

It pointed out the necessity for those responsible for selling electronic devices to review the telecommunications offices affiliated with it to obtain licenses within 30 days.

Disruption of work for some

Rafe’ al-Hamoud works at a money transfer office in the town of Suwaidan in the eastern countryside of Deir Ezzor, and he constantly needs internet service to carry out his work. He told Enab Baladi that internet services have declined since the beginning of this month, hindering his work in receiving and delivering transfers.

He added that internet networks have experienced continuous service interruptions since the beginning of November, along with weak connection speeds when available.

Mohammad al-Alka, a resident of the eastern countryside of Deir Ezzor, told Enab Baladi that the cost of an internet package has become excessive, as he pays 30 US dollars monthly for internet service at a speed of three megabytes.

He noted that prices have recently risen, as his previous subscription was ten dollars when the internet speed was one megabyte.

He added that his work in a civil society organization in Deir Ezzor requires constant communication and necessitates good and continuous internet availability, as he frequently exchanges correspondence and files through email and Google Drive services.

The young man pointed out that the quality of internet services was better last month, but these services have declined since the beginning of November.

What are the reasons?

Enab Baladi contacted an employee in the telecommunications directorate of the Autonomous Administration in Deir Ezzor, who answered questions on the condition of anonymity as he is not authorized to speak to the media.

The employee stated that the military leadership of the Internal Security Forces (Asayish) compels communications department employees to allocate most frequencies that were previously distributed to internet café owners in the region to their military points to provide them with internet services.

He added that reallocating services to military sites has reduced the quality of the network provided to internet cafés and led to the deterioration of its quality due to pressure on the internet lines.

The employee said that there should be a spacing of 300 degrees between the frequencies, but the military’s demands do not respect this rule, creating spaces of 80 degrees between the frequencies of some networks, which has resulted in a decline in internet services.

He noted that the telecommunications management in Deir Ezzor has not updated the programs in use in the region, but instead activated old versions of frequencies, meaning that internet cafés paying for 40 megabytes only receive five megabytes.

For his part, Majid al-Bahr, a distributor for internet cafés in the region, stated that he is working to suspend the networks of some internet cafés in eastern Deir Ezzor, in order to meet the needs of users in his area.

He pointed out that currently the only solution available to improve the quality of the internet is this.

Previously, the eastern countryside of Deir Ezzor witnessed protests due to rising internet package prices, and residents accused military entities affiliated with the Autonomous Administration of being behind the price increase.

Local news sites reported that residents accuse companies affiliated with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which is the military wing of the Autonomous Administration, of monopolizing the internet, which led to rising prices.