high speeds ahead

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High speeds aheadMatt Nash, September 9, 2011 share

Lebanon's notoriously slow Internet speed is set to get a boost beginning October 1. (AFPPhoto/Pierre Andrieu)

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 ofTelecommunications and the private sector are confident new Internet packageswill be on offer starting October 1.

New prices and speeds will be implemented on “the first of the month after thedecree is published,” Antoine Hayek, an advisor to Telecom Minister NicolasSehnaoui, told NOW Lebanon. Hayek said he anticipates the decree will bepublished on September 15. The decree, he said, needs to be signed by theministers of telecom and finance, in addition to the president and prime minister.Hayek said the telecom and finance ministers signed the document on August 23,when cabinet approved it.

On Thursday, Sehnaoui posted on his Facebook page that “due to Prime Minister[Najib] Mikati’s travel plans, he signed the decree on Tuesday, so with the time itneeds 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 [September 8]. It will most certainlybe issued in next Thursday’s Official Gazette [September 15]. So theimplementation will be on [the] 1st of October for all Lebanese users.”

Facebook pages that are hubs for debate about Internet in Lebanon were atwitterover the weekend with fears that the delay in publication would translate into adelay in implementation. However, Khaldoun Farhat, CEO of the Internet serviceprovider (ISP) Terranet and the data service provider (DSP) Cable 1, told NOWLebanon that he is also confident the new packages will be available October 1.

Indeed, many of Lebanon’s ISPs, which sell Internet connections to individualcustomers, are offering teaser ads on their websites promising faster speeds atlower prices with higher caps on download soon. None have yet publicallyannounced what they will offer, but the decree outlined what state-owned Ogero,which also sells connections to customers, must offer (see price comparison charthere).

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Private sector ISPs are expected to offer the same speeds and caps on download asOgero, but at slightly lower prices. While many Facebook users were upset that thenew packages will include caps on downloading, Hayek defended them as a meansto prevent abuse.

“If everyone is downloading a lot, it puts constraints on the network,” he said.“That decreases the quality of connections for all users. If you use the Internetnormally, the cap won’t be a problem.”

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 eachmonth (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. Mostusers download far more than they upload. Farhat argued that under the currentsystem, most users are wasting much of their upload cap.

Fees for down/uploading more than one’s monthly limit are set to plummet.Currently, Ogero charges $100 for each additional GB a customer uses beyond thecap. The new pricing decree sets that price instead at $4.

Faster Internet at a lower price is expected to boost demand, raising questionsabout the ability of Ogero and private ISPs to provide customers services quicklyand efficiently. Farhat said he has seen hopeful signs indicating that one of thebiggest problems the private sector faces—delays in bandwidth purchaseorders—will no longer be a problem, meaning customers will not have to waitmonths between requesting an Internet connection and receiving it, as has beenthe case.

Hayek said that the new decree resolved some of the issues that led to bandwidthdelivery problems, notably clearing up confusion over whether the ministry or DSPspay certain fees. Hayek also said the ministry is set to let the private sector havemore market access.

Individual customers connect to the Internet through Ogero exchange points. Thereare some 170 exchanges throughout the country. At 35 of these exchanges, DSPshave a presence. They provide ISPs with access. At all other exchanges, ISPs getaccess from Ogero. Farhat said that, in essence, the ISP and DSP split what theymake from a customer.

“If you pay, for example, $20 for Internet, $10 goes to the ISP and $10 goes to theDSP,” he said. At exchanges where DSPs are not present, ISPs are working withOgero, splitting their earnings with the state. Hayek said that the ministry is“ready” to allow DSPs immediate access to an additional 35 exchange points, withaccess to the remaining 100 “in around six months.”

Hayek also said the ministry is working on upgrading the connections between theexchanges and the wider network, which can constrain an individual user’s Internetspeed. Farhat and Imad Tarabay, CEO of Cedarcom, told NOW Lebanon that theprivate sector has also faced problems with importing equipment needed toenhance the services they provide.

In a brief conversation with NOW Lebanon, Tarabay, whose company imports theMobi wireless modem, said he is convinced the ministry is hassling him because of alawsuit he filed against it over a licensing issue related to upcoming 3G mobilephone network upgrades. Hayek said the ministry is also working to stop suchequipment delays.

In addition, the ministry is working on installing fiber optic lines throughout thecountry. Fiber optic lines have a far higher capacity than the current copper linesthat crisscross the country. Hayek said Lebanon should be covered in fiber by themiddle of 2012. In the meantime, copper cables could prove a constraint for some.

Depending on the quality of the copper line and a customer’s distance from an


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exchange point, actual connection speeds may be lower than advertised, he said.

“Customers should check with their ISPs before buying a new package to make suretheir line can handle the speed they want to buy,” he said. “All ISPs test their linesand know how much traffic they can handle.”


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