LebGeeks

A community for technology geeks in Lebanon.

You are not logged in.

#76 December 2 2016

Draguen
Member

Re: Internet in Lebanon - Articles

Hey,

This was posted today in the dailystar :

http://www.dailystar.com.lb/Business/Lo … -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.

Offline

#77 December 21 2016

Draguen
Member

Re: Internet in Lebanon - Articles

Fellow geeks, another article published in the dailystar regarding the ICT domain, whith an important emphasis on the Internet situation :

http://www.dailystar.com.lb/Business/Lo … ntrol.ashx

The Lebanese ICT sector holds a lot of economic potential given its fast-growing pace and its vast reach to the different aspects of consumers’ daily life, health, transport, etc. In fact, the sector’s added value amounted to $1.3 billion in 2013 and is estimated to have reached $1.7 billion in 2016, hence contributing to more than 3 percent of gross domestic product. The ICT sector is considered the fastest-growing sector of the economy after recording a 7 percent compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) in the last two years alone. According to Business Monitor International, the market size of information technology, which is an expanding segment of the ICT sector, registered a 12.6 percent CAGR in the last 10 years and is expected to hit $436 million in 2016 and $466 million in 2017.

The wave in favor of data usage seems to be modifying the ICT market’s dynamics in Lebanon. Between 2013 and 2015, according to the Telecommunications Ministry, the number of subscribers for broadband internet more than doubled, going from 480,000 to 1.24 million. Similarly, mobile data subscriptions hit 2.92 million in 2016 as compared to 2.02 million in 2015.

In the same context, low-cost Voice over Internet Protocol services through mobile devices boosted demand for data services at the expense of the standard calling services. Considered as the most successful technology of the last decade, VoIP services such as Skype, Viber and recently WhatsApp are becoming more popular among the Lebanese population as they provide a cheaper alternative for communication services. In fact, revenues deriving from voice calls are witnessing a double-digit decline simultaneously with data usage growing at a double-digit pace. “In fact, more than 50 percent of Alfa’s revenues are derived nowadays from data services rather than voice” said Marwan Hayek, chairman and CEO of Alfa.

The ICT sector fares barely better than the average compared to international and regional peers. The ICT Development Index, which monitors and compares developments in ICT, ranked Lebanon 66th out of 175 countries, while Turkey and China respectively took the 70th and 81st places in 2016. The index also revealed that Lebanon grasped the 8th rank among Arab countries, outperforming Jordan and Tunisia and standing just after each of Kuwait and Oman.

ICT still has a long way to go, as the poor infrastructure of the sector keeps on hindering the quality and speed of internet connections. Even though fiber optics is already installed in big cities but not yet operational, Lebanon actually relies on copper cables to have access to the internet. However, these cables have limited capacity in terms of data transfer and speed. Based on the latest data released by Akamai, a global provider of content delivery network services, the average connection speed in Lebanon stood at 1.8 Mbps in Q2 2016, compared to 4.0 Mbps in Egypt and 4.3 Mbps in Jordan. South Korea topped the list with an average connection speed of 27.0 Mbps and was trailed by Japan (17.2 Mbps) and the United States (15.3 Mbps). It was also noticeable that, while the global average connection speed grew by a yearly 14 percent in Q2 2016, Lebanon’s slipped by 0.8 percent over the same period.

Another major issue faced by the ICT sector in Lebanon is the lack of competitiveness due to the government’s tight control over the sector. Despite the sequential declines in communication prices since 2014, the fact that both telecom companies Alfa and touch are publicly owned entities, operated by private companies for the benefit of the government, creates a sort of duopoly agreement between the two companies. According to World Bank sources, “limited competition in telecommunications and broadband is stifling growth of the sector. The fixed-line and broadband market sees the dominant position of Ogero, while the mobile sector, unlike most countries in the world, is under the control of the government.” Besides inhibiting growth and innovation, government control is keeping tariffs high and limiting product differentiation. According to Arab Advisors Group, Lebanon ranked 17th in 2015 out of 19 Arab countries in the Cellular Competition Intensity Index.

The current pricing of 4G data/voice packages is still high, despite the recent price cuts. Maroun Chammas, chairman and CEO of Berytech, believes that “wholesale prices need to be revised in order to provide more capacity and a better reflection of accurate demand and cost. More gigabytes should be offered for users at the current retail prices while pricing to ISPs [internet service providers] and MISPs [mobile ISPs] should be brought down to reflect a fair policy.”

The continuing extensions of management contracts are another barrier for state-owned mobile operators in Lebanon. In reality, Charbel Cordahi, economist and finance leader in the ICT sector, explained that “the one-year agreement granted in January 2012 by the government to touch and Alfa has been extended 22 times since that time.” This is limiting the implementation of business strategies, long-term planning and technological development. However, according to Cordahi, “the two operators were able to introduce the latest technologies in difficult economic times.”

Public negligence and corruption proved to be capable of hindering the sector far more than expected. In reality, the latest Ogero scandal was another impediment for Lebanon’s ICT sector following the discovery of four unlicensed internet providers earlier this year that are supplying illegal internet services from foreign-based connections at reduced prices. The exposed corruption in the illegal sharing of bandwidth profits is estimated to have caused around $200 million loss per year, according to Lebanon’s finance minister. Moreover, an increase of 15 percent in sales came after the revelation of the scandal.

In light of these deficiencies, the first step to improve the sector would be revamping its infrastructure, given its huge potential and capability of reshaping the Lebanese ICT market. Economically speaking, it is assumed that Lebanon’s GDP will increase by 0.3 percent every time the broadband doubles. Hence, the installation of fiber optics has gradually started in Lebanon and it is expected that 85 percent of the population will have access to the service by the end of 2017. “The current copper infrastructure provides a maximum internet speed of 8 to 20 Mbps depending on the regions; the [Telecommunications Ministry] should immediately open the local loop, so that the users can benefit at once from a better internet experience. While fiber-optic internet provides a speed up to 100 Mbps, infrastructure should be completed so that internet traffic is shifted to the fiber-optic infrastructure, and ultimately complete the work of fiber to the home [FTTH] and fiber to the office [FTTO]. This will provide a radical and definite improvement in internet connection’s speed and user experience,” Berytech’s Chammas said.

Another suggestion that, however, might be politically controversial would be the liberalization of the sector from the government’s grip to boost competition. For instance, privatization would have many benefits in terms of prompting higher inflows of capital and expertise into the sector. In this context, Alfa’s Hayek stated that “partial privatization might be a solution through the addition of strategic partners, not necessarily foreigners, with management experience and where the government can become a shareholder.” Similarly, according to World Bank sources, “one of the potential measures is the implementation of comprehensive reform, aiming at bringing competition in the market, on the model of Eastern European countries such as Lithuania, which now has the highest FTTH penetration in Europe, or Romania, where the average internet speed is higher than that of France and Italy.”

Also, even though some initiatives were formed to boost the sector, they still need to be former embraced and implemented. While telecommunications minister, Boutros Harb launched his 2020 Agenda that aims at modernizing the national telecoms infrastructure. The $600 million worth project is expected to install 4.5G services and develop 5G services. The project will also plan, over 3 stages, for the upgrade of the internet infrastructure from copper cables to fiber optics by 2020.

Finally, a thriving ICT sector is a necessity for countries looking for prosperity and growth. As for Lebanon, the industry has a huge potential to grow given the well-educated workforce and the readiness to shift toward a more digitized environment. In reality, and as stated by former Telecommunications Minister Nicolas Sehnaoui, “the ICT sector is multifaceted: On one hand it is an enabler of the economy, and as such it boosts productivity and innovation of all sectors, and on the other hand it is a sector of its own that will thrive and export its goods and services regionally and globally.” In this context, insuring a healthy environment for the ICT sector to grow is essential for the success of Central Bank Circular 331, which aims at boosting the knowledge economy by supporting startups and especially tech businesses.

This monthly editorial is brought to you by the Research Department of BLOMINVEST BANK. Contact: mirna.chami@blominvestbank.com

blog.blominvestbank.com

Last edited by Draguen (December 21 2016)

Offline

#78 December 23 2016

Draguen
Member

Re: Internet in Lebanon - Articles

Okay, seems like things are moving, or at least they try to make it as if it were :

http://blogbaladi.com/pm-hariri-promise … es-faster/

(the guy is usually well informed on everything related to Internet)

PM Hariri Promised Investors an Internet Speed 20 Times Faster.

Our newly appointed Prime Minister Saad Hariri is keeping Lebanon’s internet on top of his agenda and has promised investors at the third edition of the Global Business Summit, which was organized by LIFE and Endeavor, a twenty-fold increase in internet speed.

Given that Hariri’s government should only last few months, key decisions need to be taken ASAP for internet speeds to improve and for all Lebanese to get connected to fiber optics. I still think this is a very ambitious plan given previous experiences but Hariri is reaching out to the right people which is definitely a step in the right direction.

Going back to my previous post on this matter, here’s what we expect from our new PM and the new Telecom Minister:

– A 1-year plan to deploy fiber optics and connect all of Lebanon. We’ve had enough of these 2020 and 2040 projections. The fiber optic infrastructure is already there and most if not all internet stations in Lebanon are interconnected by fiber optics.

– Enhancing the 4G/LTE network to cover all of Lebanon and moving to 5G the soonest. This part of the MOT 2020 plan is already on track so let’s push it to get 5G by next year and achieve proper speeds.

– Equipping all schools, universities and educational centers with free, abundant and fast internet.

– Reduce internet prices significantly and offer better plans while maintaining the quality of the service.

– Get rid of Ogero or restructure the state-run telecom company and set up a clear and transparent plan of action. Set up a proper hotline and have competent and professional teams ready to help customers and fix internet issues. My experience with Ogero so far has been a lousy one and I am sure a lot of people can relate.

– End the Telecom monopoly (duopoly in our case) in Lebanon.



PM Hariri also mentioned Lebanon should impose a quota for women representation in the government and parliament. I’m not really fond of quotas but it’s also a good start given that we only have 1 woman in the government right now and our country scored one of the lowest rates in terms of women political empowerment with less than 3% (Yemen, Oman, Qatar and Brunei Darussalam are the only countries with less than 3%).

Last edited by Draguen (December 23 2016)

Offline

#79 January 5 2017

Raficoo
Member

Re: Internet in Lebanon - Articles

Tayyar - http://www.tayyar.org/News/Print/123479

الجراح: نأمل في منتصف شهر شباط ان ينطلق العمل بشبكة الـFiber Optic وتؤمّن خدمة الـ4G

Offline

#80 January 26 2017

raichu
Member

Re: Internet in Lebanon - Articles

Just in.

LBCI علم موقع الـ
ان وزارة الاتصالات تقوم  حالياً بتجهيز مراكز السنترالات في مختلف الاراضي اللبنانية لتتمكن من تكبير سعة قدرة اشتراكات الانترنت وتحسين سرعتها بنسبة تتراوح بين الـ ٣٥ والـ ٥٠ فالمئة.
وبحسب المعلومات، فإن وزارة الاتصالت ستعلن نهاية شهر شباط المقبل عن تاريخ بدء العمل بالتعديلات الجديدة

While the whole world is on fiber...

Last edited by raichu (January 26 2017)

Offline

#81 January 27 2017

xazbrat
Member

Re: Internet in Lebanon - Articles

Techiedad
Will Lebanon Get High Speed Internet,

At a time when we, in Lebanon, are still trying to convince each other about the importance of having high-speed internet and about the positive implications it has on the economy. Canada declared that high-speed internet is a necessity for the quality of life and has set the following targets for the basic telecom services:

– Speeds of 50 megabits per second (Mbps) download/10 Mbps upload for fixed broadband Internet access services
– An unlimited data option for fixed broadband access services
– The latest mobile wireless technology available not only in homes and businesses but also along major Canadian roads

Although more than 82% of Canadians have access to 50Mbps/download and 10Mbps/upload, the project aims at getting all of the Canadians, especially those living in rural areas connected and up to speed


another corner of the world, Google is giving people free Wifi at 100 of the busiest train stations in India, connecting more than 5 million users monthly. Google worked with state-run ISP RailTel whose fiber optic cable runs alongside the railway tracks.

So, What is Our Situation Today?
In Lebanon, we are not even close to an acceptable situation. The current obsolete and deteriorating internet infrastructure is making us unable to compete with the rest of the world on both personal and professional levels. In two words, our internet is expensive and useless.

The average internet speed in Lebanon is 1.8Mb/s, one of the lowest in the world. War-torn Iraq’s average is 3.7Mb/s while South Korea has the best average with 26.7Mb/s.

Facts and Figures:
In Lebanon, around 76% of the overall population are online. In total have around 4,5M Internet users, 3.1M Facebook subscribers (according to IWS), and 2.5M Mobile Internet Users (early 2016)

what is unbelievable is that around 50% of internet users are on less than 1Mb/s, 43% are on 2Mb/s, and 7% are on +4Mb/s (Source: Ogero)

If we look at the internet milestones in Lebanon, we notice that:
0.06Mb/s dial-up was introduced back in 1997, 0.5-2Mb/s ADSL was introduced back in 2007 with an update to ADSL2+/HDSL in 2009. Since then, no technological breakthrough, as by now, we should have been operating on 10-100Mb/s FTTX. Unfortunately, we are still running on the same archaic infrastructure of 2007.

How does it Work?

To simplify things, to access the internet, we are either connected via the fixed or mobile network.

Fixed Network:
You’re on a fixed network when you are connected at home, the office, in a coffee shop or any other location that is providing internet via Ogero directly or indirectly via any other ISP or cable Internet provider.

But, what good is a network if it is not used. A good part of the work is done and Lebanon is connected to the world via the IMEWE submarine cable since 2011, in turn, it inter-connects around 308 Ogero Central Offices (CO)s via fiber optics through the three international exchanges in Beirut, Jdeideh, and Tripoli.

Technically, the problem lies in connecting these COs individually to the surrounding homes/offices in each town and village, by replacing the current existing copper cables by fiber. This is done in two steps: First connecting the Central Offices to the every street cabinet and then connecting the street cabinets to the building boxes and then to the homes.

......more

Sort of depressing really :(

Offline

#82 February 21 2017

gamer4life
Member

Re: Internet in Lebanon - Articles

ألقى ممثل الرئيس ميشال عون وزير الاتصالات جمال الجراح كلمة خلال افتتاح مؤتمر "Arabnet 2017"، قال فيها:
"شرفني فخامة الرئيس ميشال عون أن أمثله في هذا المؤتمر لأنه يؤمن إيمانا عميقا بأن التقدم العلمي واقتصاد المعرفة هو ركيزة أساسية من ركائز تطور اقتصادنا وتطور بلدنا".

أضاف: "في إقتصاد كالإقتصاد اللبناني الذي كان بأفضل أحواله في فترات كبيرة منذ نشأة هذا البلد، مررنا بصعوبات كبيرة وبحروب أهلية داخلية وحافظ هذا الإقتصاد على متانته وعلى استمراره وعناصر قوته".

ورأى أن "ما يضيف الى اقتصادنا مناعة وقوة هو قدرة اللبنانيين على الإبداع والإبتكار والمواكبة والتطور والتعلم بسرعة فائقة لا بل أن شبابنا وشاباتنا كانوا من الرواد في العالم، ليس فقط في لبنان أو في العالم العربي، لكن كانوا على امتداد العالم روادا في تكنولوجيا المعلومات وفي التطور العلمي وفي الإضافة النوعية لكل البحوث العلمية التي جرت في العالم، خصوصا في تكنولوجيا المعلومات".

وتابع: "إذن عناصر قوتنا وعناصر تطورنا موجودة في لبنان وفي اللبنانيين وفي شبابنا وشاباتنا. نحن بحاجة وبحاجة ملحة وسريعة أن نتحول الى الإقتصاد الرقمي، أن نواكب العلوم الحديثة، ونطور اتصالاتنا التي تعد أيضا ركيزة أساسية من ركائز تطور الاقتصاد.
لم يعد مسموحا أن يبقى لبنان في درجات متخلفة عن جيرانه من الدول العربية أو حتى بين دول العالم، لأننا كما قلت نملك الإمكانات البشرية المهمة، وهي أساس تطور أي مجتمع أو أي اقتصاد. طبعا كلنا نعلم أن اقتصادنا يعاني ما يعانيه من أزمات ولم يعد جائزا أن نتلهى في الخلاف السياسي وفي تضييع الوقت، قد أضعنا ما يكفي من الوقت. لم يعد جائزا إلا أن نكون في سبق حقيقي مع الوقت، لنعوض ما فاتنا في الماضي لنتقدم الى الأمام، لنطور إقتصادنا لنحمي بلدنا اقتصاديا وماليا من ما يجري حولنا في المنطقة وفي العالم".

وأكد أن "الرهان على اللبنانيين وعلى الإقتصاد اللبناني كبير، لكن يبقى على الدولة أن تضع التشريعات والقوانين اللازمة التي تسهل عملية الإنتقال الى اقتصاد معرفي وتخلق البيئة المناسبة لهذا التحول وتحافظ على الأمن والإستقرار الذي يعد الدعامة الأولى أو الحاجة الأولى لأي تطور اقتصادي أو تطور تكنولوجي أو تطور مالي، ويبقى لبنان كما هو الآن حاضنا لكل النشاطات ولكل المؤتمرات ولكل المعارض في شتى العلوم وشتى الأوضاع الإقتصادية".

واعتبر أن "علينا أيضا في لبنان أن نؤمن بهذا القطاع الخاص، أن نؤمن أن القطاع الخاص والشراكة بين الدولة والقطاع الخاص هي أيضا عنصر أساسي وفعال في تطوير اقتصادنا ليكون اقتصادا نوعيا يعتمد على العلوم وعلى التكنولوجيا وعلى التقدم العلمي، لأنه بدون ذلك سيواجه صعوبات كبيرة في تطوره وفي نموه".

ورأى أن "أي شراكة بين القطاع الخاص والقطاع العام كانت تضيف الى اقتصادنا إضافة نوعية تخلق فرص عمل كبيرة لشاباتنا وشبابنا، تختصر الوقت وتقدم أفضل ما يكون. لذلك أقول آن الأوان أن نؤمن بأنفسنا كدولة وكقطاع خاص وأن نجد طريقا لهذه الشراكة من خلال القوانين والأنظمة التي ربما هي نائمة في أدراج الدولة لفترة طويلة.
أن نحيي هذه العلاقة ونطورها ونعمل عليها جميعا لأنها هي خلاصنا الوحيد".

وقال: "بالتأكيد على وزارة الإتصالات مسؤولية كبيرة. نعمل على إيجاد الحلول اللازمة لكل مشكلاتنا السابقة وتطوير هذا القطاع، وقد قلت لفريق عملي منذ البداية أننا امام عدو واحد في وزارة الإتصالات هو الوقت. فلنعمل جميعا على محاربة الوقت والإستفادة منه الى الحد الأقصى، لأنه ليس لدينا وقت، وليس لدينا ترف الجدل الطويل حول أمور علمية لكي نصرف هذا الوقت في الجدل وفي البحث. التكنولوجيا والعلوم أصبحت متقدمة ومتقدمة جدا، والموارد المالية متوافرة، يبقى أن نتخذ قرارا بالعمل والإنتاج واختصار الوقت وتقديم أفضل ما يمكن للبنانيين".

وأشار الى أنه "خلال فترة قصيرة أنهينا ما كان يسمى مشكلة ال fiber optics المزمنة التي امتدت لسنوات، وان شاء الله في غضون نهاية هذا الشهر، وفي غضون نهاية شهر آذار، تكون هذه الشبكة تعمل وبطريقة فعالة وموصولة الى شركات الخليوي، وكما وعدنا الأستاذ مروان والسيدة لارا أنه مع حلول آخر آذار 85% من الأراضي اللبنانية ستغطى بال 4G".

وقال: "الخطوة الثانية التي اتخذتها وزارة الإتصالات أن سنترالات الهاتف الأرضي التي بنيت سنة 1994 أيام الرئيس الشهيد رفيق الحريري، قد استهلكت ولم يعد لديها القدرة على إعطاء الخدمات اللازمة للمواطنين. في نهاية آذار ان شاء الله سيتم تلزيم جميع سنترالات لبنان مي تستبدل بسنترالات جديدة بأحدث التقنيات فتتوفر مئات آلاف الخطوط للبنانيين الذين حرموا منها لسنوات وسنوات وعلى امتداد الأراضي اللبنانية".

وتابع: "لن نكتفي بالشبكة الموجودة لل fiber optic، وإذا أمنت لنا الحكومة الإعتمادات اللازمة فسنطور هذه الشبكة في المرحلة الأولى لتغطي بيروت الإدارية بكاملها. طبعا سنبدأ بالتوصيل لما يسمى بال heavy users في أقرب وقت، ومن ثم الأراضي اللبنانية كافة".

وشدد الجراح على أن "هناك عملا مطلوبا منا سنقوم به إن شاء الله بدعم فخامة رئيس الجمهورية وبدعم دولة الرئيس سعد الحريري والحكومة اللبنانية ووزير الإقتصاد، لنحاول ان نستكمل هذه الشبكة على كل الأراضي اللبنانية لأنها الطريق الوحيد حتى تصل خدمة الإنترنت بسرعة معقولة ولكل اللبنانيين أينما كانوا، بعدما أصبح الإنترنت حاجة أساسية وضرورية وملحة لأي عمل ولأي شركة ولأي مصرف".

وأشار الى أن "شركات كثيرة تركت لبنان فقط لأنه لا يتمتع بخدمت إنترنت، وذهبت الى دول أخرى حيث تتكبد أضعاف الكلفة التي كانت تتكبدها في لبنان لانتفاء وجود خدمة الإنترنت ".

وكشف أن "شركتي Touch وAlfa وعدتا بأن تهديا الطلاب الجامعيين في لبنان ابتداء من أواخر الشهر سلة خدمات بطاقة، بسعر معقول دعما للتعليم الجامعي في لبنان ولا سيما في مجال التكنولوجيا والإتصالات".

وشكر في الختام منظمي المؤتمر "لقرارهم عقده في لبنان ولأن إيمانهم في هذا البلد لا يزال قويا".

You can read it on his Facebook page.

Offline

#83 February 22 2017

Silentcontrol
Member

Re: Internet in Lebanon - Articles

since they can milk our money more why not right !? honestly i fell that the next internet upgrade would be useless anyway something like they add 10% quota and lower the price by 10% same speed.
still not an improvement in my opinion just a joke and a lie.

Offline

#84 February 24 2017

nuclearcat
Member

Re: Internet in Lebanon - Articles

Offline

#85 February 24 2017

xazbrat
Member

Re: Internet in Lebanon - Articles

And just to throw more stuff into the fire
Daily Star

Telecoms minister announces revamp of the landline network in Lebanon

BEIRUT: Telecoms Minister Jamal Jarrah Friday announced a plan to revamp landline communications network in Lebanon.

“As soon as the improvements [to the landline network] is finished, 500,000 additional landline numbers,” Jarrah said, speaking during the project’s launch ceremony at the Grand Serail.

Jarrah also promised upgraded fiber optic networks, improved internet services and new data bundles would soon be available, particularly to students.

The ceremony was attended by Prime Minister Saad Hariri.

Activists have recently lobbied to demand improved and less costly telecoms services.

Clear as mud right---and yet another plan to 'revamp'

Offline

#86 February 24 2017

Raficoo
Member

Re: Internet in Lebanon - Articles

Tayyar - http://www.tayyar.org/News/Lebanon/133414

أكد رئيس مجلس الوزراء سعد الحريري "حرص الحكومة على أن تستيعد ثقة الناس بالدولة"، مشيرا إلى أن "جزءا من هذه الثقة يتم عبر تأمين الخدمات لمصلحة المواطن، وخاصة في مجالات الاتصالات والإنترنت، التي باتت تشكل جزءا أساسيا وكبيرا من حياة الإنسان اليوم".

كلام الرئيس الحريري جاء خلال رعايته مساء اليوم، حفل إطلاق مناقصة "تحديث وتطوير سنترالات الهاتف الثابت في كل لبنان" الذي أقيم في السراي الحكومي بحضور وزير الاتصالات جمال الجراح والمدير العام لهيئة "أوجيرو" عماد كريدية وكبار موظفي الوزارة.

الجراح
بداية تحدث الوزير الجراح، فأوضح أن "السنترالات الموجودة حاليا بدأت مع الرئيس الشهيد رفيق الحريري في العام 1994، ولم يتم إدخال أي تحسين أو إضافات عليها، منذ ذلك اليوم. والآن، وفي عهد الرئيس سعد الحريري، ننتقل إلى أحدث تكنولوجيا في مجال خدمات الهاتف الثابت".

وقال: "هذا المشروع يشمل السنترالات والشبكات الموصولة على شبكة النحاس الحالية، وتطويرها بإجراء صيانة كاملة لها وتحديثها لكي تتمكن من نقل المعلومات والداتا بوضعها الحالي. ومن أهم ميزات هذا المشروع أنه سيتيح للمواطنين فورا 500 ألف خط إضافي. حاليا لدينا مليون خط، وفي الوزارة يوجد طلبات لمائة ألف خط، لا نستطيع تلبيتها لأن قدرة السنترالات الموجودة حاليا وصلت إلى أقصاها. وبعد أن ينتهي هذا المشروع يصبح بإمكاننا فورا توفير 500 ألف خط إضافي، وسيكون بإمكاننا زيادة سرعة الإنترنت بشكل فوري على هذه الشبكة وهذه السنترالات، وبأضعاف ما هي عليه حاليا، بما يؤمن للمواطنين خدمة إنترنت بسرعة معقولة جدا، على المدى القصير. أما على المدى الأبعد فهناك شبكة "فايبر أوبتيكس"، وبعد الانتهاء من هذه السنترالات سيكون بإمكاننا أن نقدم للمواطنين خدمة IPTV وTriple Play، وغيرها من الخدمات التي يمكن الحصول عليها على الخط الأرضي".

أضاف: "المرحلة الأبعد هي شبكة ال"فايبر أوبتيكس" التي سنصل فيها إلى أبعد مدى للمواطنين، بحيث يمكنهم أن يتلقوا خدمة DSL سريعة وبنوعية جيدة ومريحة. وهناك من يستهلكون الإنترنت بكثرة، هؤلاء نعدهم بأننا، وبعد تلزيم السنترالات، سنمد شبكات الـ"فايبر أوبتيكس" ليحصلوا على هذه الخدمة بأقرب وقت ممكن، وقد وعدني الموظفون بأن تتم هذه الأمور خلال أسابيع وليس أشهر. وبحسب توجيهاتكم دولة الرئيس، نعمل أيضا على إنجاز ما يسمى ب "University student package"، وسنطلقها أيضا من السراي برعايتكم، لكي نقدم لطلاب لبنان حزمة بسعر زهيد وفيها كل الخدمات التي يحتاجونها. وفي نهاية شهر شباط الحالي، سيتم توفير خدمة الـ4G في مدن الساحل كافة إضافة إلى زحلة، وفي آخر آذار سيكون بالإمكان تغطية 85% من الأراضي اللبنانية بما يسمى Real 4 G، بالسرعة وقدرة الاستعياب الحقيقية".

وختم: "كل هذه المشاريع التي نحاول تنفيذها بتوجيهاتكم ورعايتكم، تصب في خدمة المواطنين، وقد أُعلمَت الإدارة أن مشروع الـ"فايبر أوبتيكس" سيبدأ من المناطق البعيدة وصولا إلى قلب المدينة، لكي نضمن أن يصل هذا المشروع إلى كل المواطنين أينما كانوا في لبنان، سواء في بيروت أو عكار أو الشمال أو البقاع البقاع الغرب أو الشمالي أو الجنوب أو كل مناطق لبنان. وفي اجتماعي صباحا مع الإدارة، وُعدت بأنه هناك إمكانية للعمل على مستوى كل لبنان في الوقت نفسه".

الحريري
ثم تحدث الرئيس الحريري فقال: "أود أن أؤكد على أن ما نقوم به هو بتوجيه من فخامة الرئيس ميشال عون الذي يود أن يرى نقلة نوعية بالاتصالات وخدمة المواطن. وأنتم تعلمون مدى حرصنا كحكومة لأن نستيعد ثقة الناس بالدولة، وجزء من هذه الثقة تأمين الخدمات لمصلحة المواطن، خاصة فيما يخص الاتصالات والإنترنت، التي باتت تشكل جزءا كبيرا من حياة الإنسان اليوم. فلا أظن أن هناك اليوم مواطن أو مواطنة لا يستخدمون الهاتف الجوال أو الإنترنت، الذي بات وسيلة لنقل معلومات وللعمل، وفي حال تحسنّت شبكة الإنترنت لدينا سيكون بإمكان البعض القيام بأعمالهم سواء من منازلهم أو من مكاتبهم الصغيرة، ويكبّروا حجم أعمالهم من مكتب بسيط، وهناك العديد من الشركات التي ترغب اليوم في القدوم إلى لبنان وتستثمر فيه، ولكنها حين تجد شبكة إنترنت أفضل بكثير مما لدينا اليوم وبأسعار معقولة، ستتشجع أكثر، وهذا ما نريده. نحن نريد أن نكبّر الاقتصاد الوطني وكل استثمار نضعه في هذا القطاع سيخلق فرص عمل للكثير من اللبنانيين".

أضاف: "من هنا أشكركم جميعا على هذا العمل الذي تقومون به، وأعلم أنكم تعملون أيضا على تطوير خدمة الDSL، لكن حرصي وحرص فخامة الرئيس أيضا أن تصل هذه الخدمات إلى المناطق البعيدة عن المدن، فقد آن الأوان لكي ننظر إلى الأطراف ونستثمر فيها ومن ثم نعود إلى المدينة، لكي يشعر كل اللبنانيين أننا نعمل لكل جهة في لبنان. قد يقول البعض ما الذي يحتاجه ابن عكار مثلا بالانترنت، على العكس فهذا من شأنه أن يحسن وضع المدارس والطلاب الذين سيتعلمون بأحدث طرق وتقنيات التعليم، بما يؤمن بناء جديا للمواطن اللبناني في كل لبنان".

وختم: "إذا نظرنا اليوم إلى كل دول العالم وخاصة المتقدمة منها، نجد أن خدمة الاتصالات والإنترنت والتكنولوجيا هي من أهم القطاعات في هذه الدول. هناك بلدان بنت اقتصادها على هذا القطاع، ونحن في لبنان، قد يقول البعض أننا إن شاء الله سيكون لدينا غاز وبترول، ولكني مؤمن أن الطاقة الأساسية الموجودة لدينا هي الإنسان اللبناني، الذي يملك من العلم وحب التطور ما يدفعنا إلى الاستثمار فيه".
وطنية

Offline

#87 February 24 2017

Raficoo
Member

Re: Internet in Lebanon - Articles

Same news but in English
The Daily Star - http://www.dailystar.com.lb/Business/Lo … lines.ashx

BEIRUT: Telecommunications Minister Jamal Jarrah Friday announced a plan to revamp the landline communications network in Lebanon. “As soon as the improvements [to the landline network] are finished, 500,000 additional landline numbers will become available,” Jarrah said, speaking during the project’s launch ceremony at the Grand Serail.

Jarrah also promised upgraded fiber optic networks, improved internet services and new data bundles would soon be available, particularly to students.

The minister stressed that the new telephone land lines will enable the Telecommunications Ministry and state-owned landline operator Ogero to speed up the DSL connection all over Lebanon.

“This is the first phase of the project to revamp the telecom services in Lebanon and the second phase is to install fiber optics. We have decided to start the installment of the fiber optics from the rural areas all the way to the major cities like Beirut,” Jarrah explained.

He added that Ogero promised to complete the installation of the new landlines in a matter of weeks and not months.

Jarrah said that Ogero would have different types of internet services from student packages to those for heavy users.

He also spoke about upgrades to the country’s mobile infrastructure. “At the end of February we will upgrade the internet service to 4G and at the end of March of this year this service will cover at least 85 percent of Lebanese territories,” Jarrah said.

He stressed that users will experience real 4G speed and not only see the 4G sing in their mobiles.

Jarrah said that these services were introduced at the request of the government and Prime Minister Saad Hariri. Also in attendance, Hariri hailed the move and assured that the minister and Ogero are keen to complete the fiber optics across all of Lebanon in a short period of time.

The prime minister said President Michel Aoun wants the installation of the fast internet to start in rural areas and then come to the cities.

He added that the IT sector is one of the main economic drivers for many countries and that Lebanon should follow the same path.

Activists and businesses have long lobbied for improved and less costly telecoms services.

Offline

#88 February 25 2017

samer
Admin

Re: Internet in Lebanon - Articles

Admin note: posts not following the format stated in the original post have been removed. This topic is for posting articles only, please use the Q&A topic instead.

Offline

#89 March 5 2017

Xsever
Member

Re: Internet in Lebanon - Articles

Al Mada

لفت وزير الاتصالات جمال الجراح في حديث لصحيفة "اللواء" إلى انه لا إمكانية لتخفيض أسعار الانترنت والهاتف الخليوي بالنظر إلى الوضع المالي الصعب للخزينة، وبالتالي فإن هذا الموضوع غير مطروح.

Offline

#90 March 11 2017

Ahmad_S111
Member

Re: Internet in Lebanon - Articles

Here is an article about the internet but i dunno, can't seem to find a reliable source.
http://mtv.com.lb/News/684695

إلا أنّ ما تقدّم ليس كلّ شيء، إذ يوضح المصدر أنّ الوزير يستعدّ للإعلان عن تخفيضات لتعرفة خدمات الانترنت كافة.

Offline

#91 March 25 2017

amkahal
Member

Re: Internet in Lebanon - Articles

Offline

#92 March 27 2017

xazbrat
Member

Re: Internet in Lebanon - Articles

Another article prefacing about the link above.
Ogero Promises Higher Internet Speed in Lebanon by End of March 2017

In January 2017, Lebanese President Michel Aoun signed a decree appointing Imad Kreidieh as Director General of Ogero. Established in 1972 Ogero manages and maintains the fixed telephone network and constitutes its backbone infrastructure as well as that of mobile, operators, Data Service Providers (DSP), Internet Service Providers (ISP) and others.
During ArabNet Beirut 2017 in February, Mr. Kreidieh sat for his first interview as Director General with ArabNet Founder and CEO, Omar Christidis, to discuss the expectations and challenges of his mandate among calls for faster (currently it is one of the lowest) and more affordable internet.

Highlights of the interview:

There are Terabytes available for consumption, however the consumption did not exceed 120Gb
Everything will improve in terms of connectivity and infrastructure in 2017
Ogero will provide higher capacities and speeds by the end of March 2017
The subscriber threshold will be doubled from the ability to handle 1M subscribers to 2M subscribers on the fixed line front
Lebanon’s copper network is the most recent network in the Middle East but lacked maintenance, which will be taken care of this year
Fiber optic connections will be provided to offices and workspaces
The first fiber optic connection is installed for the American University of Beirut
Prices will be charged according to consumption and not by speed which allows for higher speed bundles – in which the 2Mb Unlimited package will not be affected in the mean time for different reasons
The minimum speeds will be 75Mb/s to 300Mb/s in the next few years
By end of March 2017 the internet speeds will be doubled or tripled
We all hope this change is implemented in the promised time as Lebanon’s internet and infrastructure is way behind in comparison to the average MENA capacity, speeds and connectivity.

Watch the full interview below:

Offline

#93 September 13 2017

Raficoo
Member

Re: Internet in Lebanon - Articles

The Daily Star - http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Lebano … -soon.ashx

BEIRUT: Telecommunications Minister Jamal Jarrah Wednesday said that internet speeds could be expected to increase as Lebanon invests in fiber optics and increases its share of under-sea internet cable capacity.

Jarrah said that Lebanon was close to increasing the total share of internet capacity it used from undersea internet cables that run from France to Lebanon through Cyprus.

The capacity of the French-Cypriot portion of the cable is set to increase to 1920 gb/ps up from 310 gb/ps at no cost for the Lebanese state, while Jarrah said Lebanon was increasing capacity from the Cyprus-Lebanon line in cooperation with a Cypriot company tenfold from 60 gb/ps to 600 gb/ps. Jarrah added the changes would only cost the Lebanese state $350,000.

The minister also said a cooperation agreement had been signed with the Cypriot government to ensure a new undersea cable named Europa would replace the current Alexandros cable when it reaches the end of its useful life.

“We are turning Lebanon into a hub for communications in the region ... this is the first step of many, we must initially secure high internet speed here,” Jarrah said.

The minster added that the initiation of fiber optic internet could be expected in the coming weeks, and that all Lebanese would soon experience 50 mb/ps.

“We will move Lebanon from one situation to another that is similar to the world's other large internet centers,” Jarrah said.

Jarrah said the hundreds of thousands of these fiber optic lines would have to be installed, which would cost the Lebanese state $300 million over three years, though he said revenues of around $1 billion could be expected in the fourth year, after the lines are installed.

Offline

#94 June 6 2018

Raficoo
Member

Re: Internet in Lebanon - Articles

The Daily Star - http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Lebano … -plan.ashx

BEIRUT: A massive project to connect Lebanese internet users with lightning-fast fiber-optic technology has been approved by the Court of Audit, Imad Kreidieh, head of the state-run internet company Ogero, announced on Twitter Tuesday night. The project is a monumental effort. Billed at some $283 million, it envisions connecting 85 percent of users at speeds of over 50 megabits per second – more than 10 times as fast as many connections today.

In February, three local companies won the bid to build the network. SERTA Channels, BMB and PowerTech were paired with international equipment vendors Huawei, Calix and Nokia, respectively.

At the time, Kreidieh expected to launch the project by May 1.

As with several of his self-imposed deadlines, this one has slipped. However, Kreidieh announced the installation of the first “active cabinets” in March and April.

Active cabinets are the cornerstone of Ogero’s plan. Instead of connecting every home and office with fiber – a prohibitively expensive proposition – the company plans to connect fiber to curbside cabinets in much of the country, bringing lightning-speed communication close enough to allow most users to benefit from vastly faster connections.

Fiber will still run straight to the home in some densely populated areas, while rural areas will be connected with wireless technology.

The entire project is expected to be completed in 2020.

Since taking the helm of Ogero in January 2017, Kreidieh has received high marks for his hyperactive push to further speed up Lebanon’s snail-like internet.

Shortly after he took control of the company, it conducted a series of tests to “unleash the speed” in specific areas, resulting in user-reported speeds cracking double digits – sometimes more than 20 mbps.

But these results have not yet trickled down to the masses. The latest Speedtest Global Index ranks Lebanon 133 out of 135 states, with an average broadband download speed of 5.48 mbps.

The index for April 2018 puts Lebanon behind its war-torn neighbor Syria, which has download speeds of 8.61 mbps. The global average is 45 mbps.

Offline

#95 December 4 2018

xazbrat
Member

Re: Internet in Lebanon - Articles

So sad

Think your Wi-Fi's faster than mobile internet? Not in these 33 countries

Ten years ago, Wi-Fi was universally faster than a cellular connection, but that's no longer the case in 33 countries, according to OpenSignal.

OpenSignal's analysis has found that mobile connections are up to 13Mbps faster in 41 percent of the 80 countries where users have installed its smartphone app.

That's a huge change from when the first iPhone launched and when Wi-Fi was way faster everywhere and cheaper.

The speed difference varies significantly between countries. In Australia, mobile speeds average 34.6Mbps compared with Wi-Fi speeds of 21.6 Mbps, while in Lebanon mobile speeds of 14.8 Mbps beat Wi-Fi speeds of 2.5 Mbps......

Offline

#96 March 16 2020

nuclearcat
Member

Re: Internet in Lebanon - Articles

Other ISPs sent similar paper too
image.png

Offline

#97 March 16 2020

wollyka
Member

Re: Internet in Lebanon - Articles

nuclearcat wrote:

Other ISPs sent similar paper too
https://i.ibb.co/QHqmDzd/image.png

Thanks for the update. Yes, it is unfair competition and discrimination to all the subscribers of private ISPs

Offline

#98 February 15 2021

samer
Admin

Re: Internet in Lebanon - Articles

OGERO has announced that Lebanon might experience internet connectivity issues tomorrow due to maintenance work in Marseille, France, on the India-Middle East-Western Europe (IMEWE) submarine communications cable system

https://twitter.com/lorienttoday/status … 9490732039

Offline

#99 February 15 2021

DG
Member

Re: Internet in Lebanon - Articles

Thank you for the heads-up Samer.

Last edited by DG (February 15 2021)

Offline

#100 August 19 2021

DG
Member

Re: Internet in Lebanon - Articles

Link to article:
https://www.the961.com/14000-people-los … t-lebanon/

Last edited by DG (August 19 2021)

Offline

Board footer