Hello friends,
We all know the pain we go through Lebanese Internet speed and the bandwidth limit/month.
And my foreign friends just keep telling me how bad the situation in Lebanon is, most of them have insane connections, for example: 2MB/s transfer rate with unlimited download 24/7.

My ISP is Ogero, a 512kb DSL, which is considered a good internet connection in Lebanon, the reason I don't go for an ISP which offers unlimited download at midnight or double speed, it's because I've seen many friends having a drop in speed at midnight. But which is confusing that as we know DSL connection is not affected by the number of users in the area, but by the distance from our home to the ISP center.

any ways, I was wondering if there is any chance we can get a fast connection in lebanon like the one I stated above? if not, what about a private connection? like my own Satellite? I heard some people talking about this subject, but to be honest I'm not familiar with it.

so can anyone update me? and how much does it exactly cost? last person I met told me it costs about $ 2,000?
I have cable internet.
I just asked them, they usually give (max) 512k for homes for 50$/month, it goes upto 2M during the day
I also asked them if they give more, they said "Yes but it's v. expensive"

1M for 130$

Then told them "Is there 8 Mb/s?" They told "as much as you want, but it's expensive"
4peterkh4 are you talking about internet speed 2M or transfer download rate?
Hi FuSe,
I suggest you look around the other topics in the Internet and Networking section.
Most of the available options are already outlined there.
I think it's time to revive the wiki project, as it seems we need to defragment all the information out there.
samer wroteHi FuSe,
I suggest you look around the other topics in the Internet and Networking section.
Most of the available options are already outlined there.
I think it's time to revive the wiki project, as it seems we need to defragment all the information out there.
hmm, to be honest I've searched in the Internet and Networking section for a while, and I couldn't find a thread that answers my questions...
and about the wiki project, I'll be glad if it contains some major helpful information for sure.

I'm not going to reply any more in this thread until someone have a good answer for my questions.
Thanks in advance.
This is recurring topic. Fast internet in Lebanon is expensive. The sweet spot is probably 1M DSL, or 2M if you're willing to pay for that and to wait. Otherwise you might get lucky with "cable" or if you have a low volume, Wise/Mobi and the likes.
Satellite is usually more expensive then all of the above, and will require a land connection anyway (or a license for satellite upload - good luck with that! )
In the end you will need a dose of resilience, it's highly unlikely you'll be satisfied with the connection.
rolf wroteThis is recurring topic. Fast internet in Lebanon is expensive. The sweet spot is probably 1M DSL, or 2M if you're willing to pay for that and to wait. Otherwise you might get lucky with "cable" or if you have a low volume, Wise/Mobi and the likes.
Satellite is usually more expensive then all of the above, and will require a land connection anyway (or a license for satellite upload - good luck with that! )
In the end you will need a dose of resilience, it's highly unlikely you'll be satisfied with the connection.
hmm I see, well thank you rolf for the reply that was helpful, I think here's my answer...Lebanon will never get a real pleasuring internet service... UNLESS you're filthy rich :)

Thank you all for the replies.
FuSe wrotehmm I see, well thank you rolf for the reply that was helpful, I think here's my answer...Lebanon will never get a real pleasuring internet service... UNLESS you're filthy rich :)
Wrong. We're getting faster internet in the coming weeks. We'll be getting 4 to 8 times faster internet with huge download limit, and the speeds will also be at their maximum, unlike now when you get 60~70% of the advertised speed, which means it's actually getting more than 4 to 8 times faster. So you'll be getting the 2Mb/s speed your friends told you about at the same price or more likely cheaper than the 70,000 LL price of your present 512k ogero connection.
Not to mention that in 15 months the fiber optics lines will be finished and we'll get cheap unlimited 100Mbit DSL (not bad for a country with no proper electricity eh?).
IMEWE hold your horses !!! I thought that the fiber optics project was canceled? and will you give me some more details please? like who's working on it Ogero? and do you have any reference for this? or personal information?

Edited: That's 100% correct IMEWE !! I just talked with my friend, he worked in CET( The Contractor Of the Project) he said:
contractor got it started on 1st of past march , actually started mobilization of equipments on april, contract states it should be done in 16months starting from 1 march 2011, they will do the civil works required , a company called Alcatel is responsible for fiber optics installation during the civil works, it will cost around 40m dollars.
That's just...beyond AWESOME !
IMEWE wroteNot to mention that in 15 months the fiber optics lines will be finished and we'll get cheap unlimited 100Mbit DSL (not bad for a country with no proper electricity eh?).
I lol'd.. But wow, that's pretty good, and it's about time. Lebanon was one of the first arab countries to get internet and now has the worst quality, but finally good internet! Video calling will not just be blurry blobs disconnecting staticly..

Is there anywhere where I can stay updated on this project like a news site or something?
FeiGn, hm I don't think so yet, I'm going to contact my friend to get some updates.
I'll post here whenever I have new information about this subject, and I'll wait for IMEWE's reply, I guess he can help us out about this.
Since I don't know much about the subject, can anyone give a rough estimate of how the speeds will change in Sept. and then again in July 2012 when the fiber optic cable is done?
Not to mention that in 15 months the fiber optics lines will be finished and we'll get cheap unlimited 100Mbit DSL (not bad for a country with no proper electricity eh?).
In your dreams bro :) , maximum speed will reach 15 Mbps at the end of the project.
amkahal wroteIn your dreams bro :) , maximum speed will reach 15 Mbps at the end of the project.
Well I always heard Nahhas saying that Lebanon will have the same speeds as the countries of Northern Europe, which have 100Mbit connections. I don't know, Nahhas doesn't lie, but he does exaggerate.
Thank for the link IMEWE, but what's up with the Ogero thing mentioned? didn't get that part, Ogero's not going to be involved with the fibers?