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| BEIRUT: Land-line provider Ogero will wire 1 Mbps connection speeds to Internet users in the vast majority of the country Oct. 1, marking the start of the implementation of a widely anticipated Internet package, Telecommunications Minister Nicolas Sehnaoui said during a broadcast of LBC?s Kalam en-Nass. The announcement follows widespread speculation that Ogero, which controls roughly 80 percent of Lebanon?s cable network, would not follow through with the plan.�The new Internet package, signed into law last month, is set to reduce bandwidth prices by 80 percent and increase speeds by up to 8 times.�Some Private Internet service providers have reportedly refrained from releasing the package, waiting for assurances from Ogero.�Full implementation of the package depends on the government laying out more optic fibreinfrastructure to accommodate Internet users in remote parts of the country. The minister said this would happen by the end of 2012.�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.�Sehnaoui also announced that Kalam cards, or prepaid cards for public telephones, were going to make a comeback Oct. 10.�Another development Oct. 10 deals with modems that have been in short supply for several months now, due to Ogero?s taking them off the market: the Telecommunications Ministry would now be filling in for the shortage by supplying modems through Libanpost.�Ogero says the lack of modems is due to a lack of capacity on their part, a claim that the Telecommunications Ministry denies.�Ogero, long considered the wild card of the telecommunications sector, has been embroiled in heated battles with the Telecommunications Ministry over at least three different ministry tenures.�Deadlocks between the two bodies are viewed by most commentators to be politically motivated, with each controlled by opposing sides of Lebanon?s deep political divide, subsequently putting major roadblocks in plans for change in that notoriously ailing sector.�However some ISPs managed to sidestep the political quibbling, pulling ?technical tricks? to win customers over with upgraded speeds and prices. The Daily Star can confirm the compliance of Terranet, IDM, and Virtual-ISP.�Seventy five percent of people in Lebanon will be able to enjoy the new Internet package next month, the minister said.�The minister also brushed off speculation that new mobile Internet service 3G, currently in its pilot stage, would face suspension.�Some Lebanese daily newspapers reported this week that the Shura Council had voted in favor of mobile Internet provider, Cedarcom, which is seeking to suspend 3G?s launch.�Cedarcom has filed a law suit against the ministry, alleging it had not taken the proper legal routes to release the service.�But commentators say there are ulterior motives at play. The group is the largest provider of mobile broadband, a technology that?s expected to receive a heavy blow from faster and cheaper mobile Internet service, 3G.�The service is set to be released at an unspecified date in October.�At Kalam en-Nas Thursday, Sehnaoui said official prices for this service would be released Oct. 20.�Ninety-two percent of poll-takers on Kalam en-Nass? website said they believed Sehnaoui would push the telecommunications sector forward.�Lebanese Internet is considered to be the slowest in the world, something that is expected to drastically change with the new Internet package.�It was a transcontinental cable (IMEWE), that set off the sector?s refurbishing. Lebanon?s IMEWE can provide the country with nearly 330 GB in bandwidth. Lebanon?s local sector only provided around 2 GB. � |
Source: http://www.tayyar.org/Tayyar/News/PoliticalNews/en-US/BlackBerry-mt-4585.htm
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