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Articles and announcements about Internet in Lebanon will be gathered here. Other topics have grown so much that they have become unmaintainable. Please limit yourself to posting articles, not questions or comments.
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NOW Lebanon – Let the countdown begin
Internet in Lebanon should be faster and cheaper by the end of September. Cabinet on Tuesday approved a new price list that will be implemented one month from August 29, when the decree is published in the Official Gazette.
Lebanon Files – مجلس الوزراء ينعقد اليوم في بيت الدين وعلى جدول اعماله 67 بندا
يعقد مجلس الوزراء جلسة في الثانية بعد ظهر الثلاثاء في المقر الرئاسي الصيفي في بيت الدين وعلى جدول اعماله 67 بندا من بينها ، اقتراح قانون يرمي الى احالة السفراء على التقاعد او صرفهم من الخدمة عند اكمالهم الثامنة والستين من العمر بدلا من الرابعة والستين.
Elie Naaman - From the radio (not verified)
The decree was passed during yesterday's meeting, but according to what I heard on the radio from mr. sehnawi himself, the prices will be live by the end of september, but the new packages will remain pending the electricity shit...
Edit: questions being asked on Sehnaoui's wall
I guess you can kiss this chart goodbye unless this mess gets cleared up soon
Last edited by proners (August 24 2011)
Le Commerce du Levant - Internet : le gouvernement décide d’une baisse tarifaire moyenne de 80%
(Translated) The Cabinet Tuesday approved a decree to reduce average tariffs by 80% of the data in Lebanon, including the Internet, but also the dedicated lines (leased lines) used by businesses.
The new grid established by the Department of Telecom aims to correct the aberrations of Lebanon tariff were one of the most expensive countries in the world on the Internet. It shall come into force on the first day of the month following the publication of the decree in the Official Journal is maximum in early October.
TerraNet - DSL Reduced and Affordable Prices / Packages
TerraNet, the first to introduce ‘unlimited-night-traffic’ and ‘double-the-speed’ will very soon offer all customers higher speeds and reduced prices. Of course, we are always pleased to receive DSL applications from new customers wanting to benefit from our special offers.
Stay tuned for more details. We’ll keep you posted. For more info please call 1293.
The Daily Star – Lebanese to enjoy faster and cheaper Internet
BEIRUT: Internet users are poised to see an 80 percent decrease in prices and a 4 to 8 times increase in speeds, a decree signed by the Council of Ministers stipulated Tuesday night.
L'Orient le Jour - Baisse des tarifs Internet : Marwan Hamadé rappelle les progrès réalisés sous son mandat
L’ancien ministre des Télécommunications, Marwan Hamadé, a réagi hier au vote mardi du décret portant sur la baisse des tarifs Internet, critiquant de manière à peine voilée l’exploitation médiatique par le ministre actuel des Télécoms, Nicolas Sehanoui, de ce qu’il considère être comme le fruit d’années d’efforts menés notamment par son équipe sous le gouvernement de l’ancien Premier ministre, Fouad Siniora.
Cedarcom - Speculations by Cedarcom about the future of Lebanese internet
According to Telecom Ministry sources, the cost price to the ministry does not exceed $30/month. So either price the E1 at $30 or break up the monopoly and allow serious investments in alternative cables by private operators. Price fluctuation would then be determined by the old, yet valid, “supply and demand” practice.
DailyStar – Clarification from Telecoms Ministry on article in The Daily Star
Minister Sehnaoui will detail the new decree scheme, in all relevant aspects, terms, and effect, in a press conference to be held on Friday 26 August, at noon, in the ministry’s headquarters
Last edited by Raficoo (August 26 2011)
Ontornet – On New Internet prices, Community feedback, Cap research and IMEWE activation timeline
As you have probably already heard, a new decree has finally passed by the Lebanese cabinet to create new internet packages and lower prices.
Being an advocacy campaign, we decided to mirror the community’s opinion, so we created a poll on facebook asking about the users’ opinion concerning the new prices and packages.
Last edited by mir (August 26 2011)
Tayyar - DSL Monthly Pricing Table [PDF]
Implementing the new tariff and the new system will take place at the end of the month in which this decree will be published in the “journal officiel”
DailyStar – M.O.T's conference: Decree implementation date,future projects/expectations, 3G progress
Internet Service Providers will enjoy a major drop in prices of bandwidth telecommunications lines, known as Leased Lines – Sehnaoui said they will be the cheapest in the Arab world, allowing Lebanon “to return to its place as a regional center.”
The decree is set to come into force on Oct. 1.
The Daily Star - Sehnaoui: Lebanese Internet to be world-leading
After that, 3G will make phased forays into the rest of Lebanon’s mobile phone sector. It’s expected that the technology will increase Internet penetration rates by about 30 percent.
The new DSL package is also expected to raise penetration rates by about 40 percent.
IDM - Anouncement
We are pleased to inform you that following the governments decision
to improve internet service in Lebanon, IDM is looking forward to this
positive change and will gradually implement major improvements
starting October 1st, 2011.
Last edited by Ghaleb (August 29 2011)
Cedarcom News – First step on a 10-mile journey
So is this enough? Do we lack initiative, investments, intelligence, or willingness to rank among the top 10 fastest countries like Lithuania (31 Mbps), South Korea (30 Mbps), Sweden (23.9 Mbps), Romania (23.8 Mbps), the Netherlands (23.7 Mbps), Latvia (23.7 Mbps), Switzerland (20.4 Mbps), Bulgaria (19.4 Mbps), Andorra (19 Mbps), or Singapore (18.5 Mbps)?
Nicolas Sehnaoui - Decree Update
Due to Prime Minister Mikati’s travel plan he signed the decree on Tuesday, so with the time it needs to go to the President be signed by him and be sent to the Official Gazette, it won’t make it before this Thursday’s issue. It will most certainly be issued in next Thursday’s official gazette issue. So the implementation will be on 1st of October for all Lebanese users.
Last edited by Lonavista (September 9 2011)
Now Lebanon - High Speeds Ahead
While the decree that lowered Internet prices and increased download speeds, passed last month by cabinet, has still not been published in the Official Gazette, the government pamphlet that announces official business, the Ministry of Telecommunications and the private sector are confident new Internet packages will be on offer starting October 1.
and this is new
The new decree also changed the way caps are calculated, Hayek and Farhat said. In the past, a 2GB cap meant users could upload 2GB and download 2GB each month (any extra uploading or downloading came with an additional fee per GB). When the decree is implemented, however, caps (which are set at 4GB, 10GB, 20GB, 25GB and 30GB) will represent a total for uploading and downloading. Most users download far more than they upload. Farhat argued that under the current system, most users are wasting much of their upload cap.
Last edited by xazbrat (September 10 2011)
Nicolas Sehnaoui - Decree Update
Decree Update: The Decree was signed by the Prime Minister and the President and is now on its way to the Official Gazette! If everything goes as planned it should be printed in Thursday's issue. One step closer; we will keep you posted!
Plus961.com – Here’s to launching the 3G service in Lebanon!
As you can see, download is @ 1.7Mbps which is superb compared to the current internet speeds, while upload is varying between 0.11 and 0.22Mbps. Ping is of course higher that it is supposed to be, and I hope it’ll improve soon. Note that I was in Beirut central district at the time of this test, and I guess speed might vary depending on your location.
Last edited by dan961 (September 20 2011)
Official Gazette – Council of Ministers Decree 6297
<admin edit: replaced the link with a direct one>
Last edited by xazbrat (September 23 2011)
The Daily Star - 4,000 lucky Lebanese test-drive faster 3G Internet technology
BEIRUT: A lucky 4,000 Lebanese smart-phone users are getting busy exploring the benefits of 3G four days into its long-awaited pilot launch.
“I’ve made more than 7 [Voice-over IP] calls that were international since I got 3G. The connection was excellent,” said Abir Ghattas, one of the founders of youth-powered movement for faster and cheaper Internet, Ontornet.
Ghattas was one of two Ontornet members to be handpicked by GSM-providers MTC touch and Alfa for 3G’s pilot study. She’s sampling the bolstered speeds this month for free.
Telecoms Minister Nicholas Sehnaoui marked Lebanon’s 3G debut this Tuesday at USJ, where the names of some 50 university students who would be part of the pilot project were picked out of a glass box. A select few business-people and civil society members are also enjoying 3G this month.
Last edited by Chup (September 27 2011)
Daily Star --Lebanese shoppers log on to e-commerce (E-commerce related)
BEIRUT: Despite the country’s notoriously slow and insecure Internet, businesses in Lebanon have begun to tap into a demand for online shopping, fueled by social media networking and a newfound consumer confidence in the safety of credit card purchasing.
“We saw the wave, and we decided to ride it at the right moment,” says Haytham El-Khoja, the co-founder of Mizalla, a Lebanese website set up two months ago that advertises itself as the region’s first online mall.
While well-established international companies have been available in the country for some time, local businesses have remained wary of branching into the market, perhaps put off by consumers’ mistrust of online credit card security, the country’s poor Internet and its lackadaisical approach to formal addresses.
Last edited by xazbrat (September 28 2011)
The Daily Star - Fast Internet on track despite delay fears
BEIRUT: Lebanese Internet will press ahead with plans to release a game-changer Internet package in early October, despite widespread speculation that land-line provider Ogero will hold off on the release of needed bandwidth.
The Daily Star has learned that at least two major private Internet service providers will implement an Internet decree passed last month, which reduces end-user DSL prices by 80 percent and raises speeds up to eight times.
The release of the package has been scheduled for Oct. 1.
MTC Touch – 2,000 mtc touch customers embarked on the 3G Journey
The 2,000 customers were chosen based on a draw system and according to predefined criteria, including the compliance of their handsets with 3G and their residence within the 3G coverage area: Beirut, part of Greater Beirut, Saida and Tripoli. In addition to the 2,000 customers, inbound roamers using mtc touch network in Lebanon will also experience the 3G services. A specialized dedicated team will handle customers’ queries to answer all their questions and assist them in anything they might need throughout the 3G Pilot period.
The Daily Star - New offers unveiled for BlackBerry, Internet users
BlackBerry Instant Messaging in Lebanon would see a drop in prices by 33 percent from $40 to $27, and bandwidth caps would increase from 100Mb to 200Mb, Sehnaoui announced as part of a series of “surprises” he promised to revealed prior to the show.
Last edited by Chup (September 30 2011)
IDM - IDM's New Plans
The Ministry of Telecommunications has issued a new decree related to the Internet Services. The new decree constitutes a long overdue positive development, and meets many of the requests of the Internet Community. It heralds exciting changes that you will gradually experience in the coming days.
As we progressively move forward in upgrading your new plans, you will have the opportunity to feel the new benefits of a faster internet connection throughout the month of October 2011.
IDM has taken proactive measures and started upgrading ADSL connections in a phased approach to reach the ultimate transition plans listed below.
The new ADSL plans provide you with faster connections and more GB for your monthly consumption.