http://www.dailystar.com.lb/Business/Lebanon/2013/Apr-03/212359-lebanon-internet-speed-to-rise-to-20-megabits-per-second.ashxxazbrat wroteDaily Star-- Sehnaoui: Further Internet bandwidth in coming weeks
BEIRUT: Telecommunications Minister Nicolas Sehnaoui announced Tuesday plans to boost the country’s high-speed Internet capacity to 33Gbit/s and said he submitted to Cabinet plans to reduce the charges of extra consumption on DSL usage.
Sehnaoui, who spoke at Holy Spirit University of Kaslik (USEK), said Internet capacity had been upgraded substantially since his taking office and unveiled further plans to boost capacity by 10Gbit/s from the present 23Gbit/s.
Internet in Lebanon - Articles
4 months later
FTTH is almost here, few months away hopefully!27/07/2013
Telecom Minister Nicolas Sehnaoui said that more than half of Lebanon’s telephone substations were linked to a long-awaited fiber-optics network, and vowed to extend coverage to the remaining areas within the next six months. “After two years of work, the fiber optics network is ready in 170 telephone areas, and we sent a letter to [state-run telephone land line operator] OGERO to detail their financial and technical requirements to expand it to the remaining areas, which do not yet have DSL,” he said.
The minister said that around six months were needed before some 500,000 households in 541 towns covered by 118 stations would benefit from the expansion of the network.
“The project is a part of balanced development … and no Lebanese will be without fast Internet by the end of the year,” Sehnaoui said.
Average Internet speed in Lebanon stands currently at 2.62 Mbps.
Source
3 months later
4 months later
The Daily Star - Harb seeks better deal for Lebanese on cellphone bills
Two relevant statements from the article:
Two relevant statements from the article:
The minister intends to hold a news conference next Wednesday to unveil his plans for the sector.
Sources said that Harb plans to increase the speed of the Internet in Lebanon, which is among the slowest in the world.
20 days later
- Edited
From the minister's Twitter - View
From his Facebook - View
Lebanon’s Telecom Minister in A Hurry to Ring the Changes - View
(...)
“I hope to get higher [internet] speed within a month. The fiber optic cable is already done. In a month we’ll have results.”
(...)
Mr. Harb said his next project is to work on a lump sum monthly payment for Lebanese internet subscribers, allowing unlimited online sessions (rather than the current system in which they pay for their time spent online), similar to what has been available in the West for the past 20 years.
(...)
Mr. Harb also acknowledges that he probably won’t accomplish nearly as much as he wants during his short allotted time at his post. “I’d like to implement Law 431.”
a month later
https://twitter.com/Harb_Boutros/status/467400404506923008
Boutros Harb wroteAll details will be announced during a press conference on Friday 23 of May at 10 Am
http://stateofmind13.com/2014/05/16/lebanons-telecom-sector-to-get-a-much-needed-overhaul-soon/
If the above plans get approved, we would finally have an unlimited internet plan for the price of what I’m subscribed to right now. Moreover, quotas would be increased substantially and extra usage made even cheaper.
a month later
http://www.executive-magazine.com/economics-policy/internet-unchained-imewe-full-capacity
Will speeds really jump?
The new packages promise connection speeds starting at 2 Mb/s and going as high as over 8 Mb/s, according to a press conference the ministry held in late May. For around 30 percent of the 300,000 households with fixed line broadband connections, such speeds are not even possible.
After years of delay, Lebanon finally has all of its central offices connected by fiber optic cables, Chebaro says. This means the country now has a network backbone capable of ultra-high speeds. The project, announced in October 2010, was initially valued at $40 million.
(…)
2 months later
The Daily Star - Harb vows to boost Internet speeds
BEIRUT: Lebanon’s telecommunications minister promised to boost the average Internet connection speed across the country in “a couple of months” after the implementation of a set of measures aimed at regulating the sector.
17 days later
Harb promises faster Internet within a few weeks
Telecommunications Minister Boutros Harb denied Friday allegations that Lebanon’s Internet speed had deteriorated significantly since he assumed office and promised that the service would improve in the coming few weeks.
7 days later
The Daily Star - Harb unveils plan to upgrade broadband
BEIRUT: Telecommunications Minister Boutros Harb Friday unveiled a new strategy to modernize and upgrade the fiber optics network in order to increase the Internet speed.
Speaking at a news conference at the Telecommunications Ministry, the minister said the project involves replacing the current copper network with fiber optics cables. Eventually these will reach all houses, residential units, offices, buildings and sidewalks.
9 months later
Minister Boutros Harb (Twitter) - May 27 Interview
Quick translation:أفهم صرخة الناس وشكاويهم بسبب الإنترنت والإتصالات. ولست قديسا لأقوم بالعجائب لكن أعتمد خطة تناسب الناس كي يصل الإنترنت لكل المناطق
Boutros HARB @Harb_Boutros May 27
الخطة الاستراتيجية للاتصالات ستطرح خلال الاسبوعين المقبلين
Boutros HARB @Harb_Boutros May 27
الخطة التي سنطرحها لتحسين قطاع الاتصالات هي خطة جدية تمتد على خمس سنوات تستند على التخطيط وليس على العمل العشوائي
Boutros HARB @Harb_Boutros May 27
I understand the cry of the people and their complaints because of the Internet and telecommunications. And I'm not a saint of wonders but adopted a plan suit up people to the Internet for all regions
Boutros HARBHarb_Boutros May 27
Strategic Plan for Communications will be addressed during the next two weeks
Boutros HARBHarb_Boutros May 27
The plan, which will put it to improve communications sector is serious plan extends over five years based on the planning, not the random work
Boutros HARBHarb_Boutros May 27
2 months later
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/Business/Local/2015/Jul-02/304721-fiber-optic-internet-to-be-rolled-out-by-2020.ashx - (The Daily Star, July 2 2015)
FTTH deployment plans and VDSL2 upgrade, details soon™.
FTTH deployment plans and VDSL2 upgrade, details soon™.
Some posts were deleted. As per the OP:
Please limit yourself to posting articles, not questions or comments.
15 days later
Minister Harb's speech: Lebanon Telecom Vision 2020
Scroll down to the bottom of the page where you will find the video:
http://frederictech.com/lebanon-telecom-vision-2020-higher-speeds-better-internet/
Scroll down to the bottom of the page where you will find the video:
http://frederictech.com/lebanon-telecom-vision-2020-higher-speeds-better-internet/
a year later
It's an old article, but I have just read it and thought it worth sharing if it was not mentioned here before.
Four reasons Lebanon’s internet is so slow
http://www.executive-magazine.com/economics-policy/four-reasons-lebanons-internet-is-so-slow
Four reasons Lebanon’s internet is so slow
http://www.executive-magazine.com/economics-policy/four-reasons-lebanons-internet-is-so-slow
1. The brand new fiber optic network is not on
2. The last mile
3. Bottleneck in the E1 lines
4. The high prices
3 months later
Hey,
This was posted today in the dailystar :
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/Business/Local/2016/Dec-02/383701-all-lebanon-to-have-fiber-optic-coverage-by-2020.ashx
This was posted today in the dailystar :
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/Business/Local/2016/Dec-02/383701-all-lebanon-to-have-fiber-optic-coverage-by-2020.ashx
BEIRUT: Lebanon has already started installing fiber optics in big cities, and 85 percent of the Lebanese population will have access to the service by the end of 2017, Telecoms Minister Boutros Harb said.
“All advanced countries rely on fiber optics to have access to the internet, and while the service is already available in Lebanon, the country will be fully covered by the end of 2020,” the minister said at a conference Thursday. His comments came during a conference at the American University of Beirut on the importance of having integrated Arab electronic infrastructure.
Harb said the current installation of fiber optics is part of the 2020 strategy he launched in July last year. According to that plan, fiber-optic networks will be gradually installed over five years, and the country totally connected by fiber by 2020.
Amer Tabsh, an expert in the field, told The Daily Star that fiber optics have already been installed between the main centers in different areas of Lebanon, but still need to be connected to big enterprises and houses. “Right now we are in the process of connecting fiber optics to houses and big enterprises,” he said.
Tabsh explained that households are currently connected to the internet via copper cables that have limited capacity when it comes to data transfer and speed. “Also, too many copper cables are needed to connect a big number of houses to the internet, while with fiber optics, we only need half the quantity of cables to be connected to the same number of houses,” he added.
Tabsh noted that while copper cables have the capacity to provide users with a maximum internet speed of 8 megabytes per second, fiber optics can provide households with an average of 100 megabytes per second.
Harb said in his speech that the 2020 strategy also aims at providing Lebanon with 4G services. “We are expecting full coverage with 4G services in Lebanon by the end of 2016,” he said. He added that the Telecoms Ministry had succeeded in improving fixed and mobile phone networks in Lebanon while increasing internet speeds.
“We have also succeeded in increasing the revenues of the Telecoms Ministry while reducing the prices of telecom services by 70 percent,” the minister said.
Talal Abu-Ghazaleh, president of the Arab Organization for Quality Assurance in Education, said that his group would continue working on improving information technology in the Arab region. Abu-Ghazaleh also added that his organization will work hard on strengthening exchange among Arab countries in a bid to create an integrated Arab IT infrastructure.