Sýn (, ) is a

telecommunications Telecommunication, often used in its plural form or abbreviated as telecom, is the transmission of information over a distance using electronic means, typically through cables, radio waves, or other communication technologies. These means of ...

and

mass media Mass media include the diverse arrays of media that reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media transmit information electronically via media such as films, radio, recorded music, or television. Digital media comprises b ...

company in

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

. The company operates a telecommunications division including 4G/ 5G services, the online newspaper Vísir.is, and several television stations including Sýn (TV channel) and radio stations Bylgjan and FM 957. It also rebroadcasts foreign television channels over its digital TV systems, over

IPTV Internet Protocol television (IPTV), also called TV over broadband, is the service delivery of television over Internet Protocol (IP) networks. Usually sold and run by a Telephone company, telecom provider, it consists of broadcast live telev ...

and

DVB-T2 DVB-T2 is an abbreviation for "Digital Video Broadcasting – Second Generation Terrestrial"; it is the extension of the television standard DVB-T, issued by the consortium DVB, devised for the broadcast transmission of digital terrestrial telev ...

. In 2022, it was the largest mass media company in Iceland. Sýn is listed on the Icelandic stock exchange. Sýn previously operated the Stöð 2 and Vodafone Iceland brands in Iceland.

History

Sýn is a conglomeration of multiple Icelandic telecommunication and media entities acquired throughout the 2000s. The brand name ''Sýn'' was originally used for a new television channel in 1995. At the time it mostly showed sporting events and raunchy material. In 2008 the Sýn brand was aquired by Stöð 2. The telecommunications entity of the current Sýn was founded in 1998 as Íslandssími (, ), becoming the first competitor to the government owned Landssíminn on the phone market. In 2002, it merged with competitor Halló-Frjáls fjarskipti under the Íslandssími name. Shortly later it bought competitor Tal and rebranded as Og Fjarskipti. Later in 2003, it became Og Vodafone. This was later rebranded as Vodafone Iceland. Sýn used the Vodafone Iceland brand for its telecommunications division but ceased using it in June 2025. Although it used the Vodafone brand and trademark, Vodafone Group owned no interest in the company, but rather franchised the brand and associated advertising styles. Vodafone Iceland previously ran Digital Iceland, the

MMDS Multichannel multipoint distribution service (MMDS), formerly known as broadband radio service (BRS) and also known as wireless cable, is a wireless telecommunications technology, used for general-purpose broadband networking or, more commonly ...

broadcasting system for the 365 corporation, from the 22 November 2006, until it was closed in 2017. In 2014, the Icelandic public broadcaster

RÚV Ríkisútvarpið (, ; abbr. RÚV ) is Iceland's national public broadcasting, public-service broadcasting organization. Founded in 1930, it operates from studios in the country's capital, Reykjavík, as well as regional centres around the count ...

, signed an agreement with then Vodafone Iceland (now Sýn), to run a shared system of DVB-T/T2 multiplexes to serve all of Iceland, facilitating the

digital switchover Digital usually refers to something using discrete digits, often binary digits. Businesses *Digital bank, a form of financial institution *Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) or Digital, a computer company *Digital Research (DR or DRI), a software ...

. Sýn operates the DVB digital transmission system by contract until 2028 and all

channels are

free-to-air Free-to-air (FTA) services are television (TV) and radio services broadcast in unencrypted form, allowing any person with the appropriate receiving equipment to receive the signal and view or listen to the content without requiring a subscri ...

, while customers can subscribe to

pay-TV Pay television, also known as subscription television, premium television or, when referring to an individual service, a premium channel, refers to subscription-based television services, usually provided by multichannel television providers, b ...

packages to access commercial channels by use of a CI Access Module, however distribution through IPTV is more popular. In 2017, Vodafone Iceland bought most of the assets of 365 Miðlar, including Stöð 2. As part of the reorganisation, in 2018 the parent corporation was rebranded as Sýn, reusing a brand acquired almost a decade earlier.

Sýn rebrand

In June 2025, the company discontinued the Stöð 2 and Vodafone Iceland brands. At this time, all of its services and brands were unified under the Sýn brand.

Telecommunications

Sýn offers mobile ( 4G/ 5G), fixed-line services as well as

DSL Digital subscriber line (DSL; originally digital subscriber loop) is a family of technologies that are used to transmit digital data over telephone lines. In telecommunications marketing, the term DSL is widely understood to mean asymmetric di ...

and

fiber Fiber (spelled fibre in British English; from ) is a natural or artificial substance that is significantly longer than it is wide. Fibers are often used in the manufacture of other materials. The strongest engineering materials often inco ...

Internet services to individuals and companies. It also provides a managed multicast

and

pay television Pay television, also known as subscription television, premium television or, when referring to an individual service, a premium channel, refers to Subscription business model, subscription-based television services, usually provided by multichan ...

services over

digital terrestrial Digital terrestrial television (DTTV, DTT, or DTTB) is a technology for terrestrial television, in which television stations broadcast television content in a digital signal, digital format. Digital terrestrial television is a major technologica ...

television,

. Sýn also operates an

Internet Exchange Point Internet exchange points (IXes or IXPs) are common grounds of Internet Protocol, IP networking, allowing participant Internet service provider, Internet service providers (ISPs) to exchange data destined for their respective networks. IXPs are ...

in cooperation with Síminn, called Múli-IXP.

Television

*Sýn Sjónvarp ( Stöð 2) *Sýn Sport *Sýn Sport 2 *Sýn Sport 3 *Sýn Sport 4 *Sýn Sport 5

Radio

* Bylgjan ** 80s Bylgjan (internet radio) ** Gull Bylgjan - 90.9 ** Létt Bylgjan - 96.7 (previously: Létt 96.7) * FM 957 - 95.7 * X-ið 977 - 97.7

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Syn (Media Corporation) 1998 establishments in Iceland Companies based in Reykjavík Icelandic brands Internet service providers of Iceland Mass media companies of Iceland Telecommunications companies of Iceland Telecommunications companies established in 1998