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Lebanese Cabinet to Lower Internet Prices by October

The Lebanese Cabinet on Tuesday approved a new internet price list that will be implemented by October this year.

According to a chart released by al-Mustaqbal Newspaper, the internet price will be more than 3 times cheaper, while the slowest internet connection provided will be 1Mbps.

Earlier on Friday, a meeting was held between Telecom Minister Nicolas Sehnaoui and Lebanese Telecom Association (LTA) members Cedarcom-Mobi, Broadband Plus, CableOne, TerraNet, Cyberia, Pesco, Wise, IDM, and GDS. Also present were Sodetel and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) interim Chairman Dr. Imad Hoballah.

Sehnaoui announced he had forwarded the draft bill to reduce fees for Internet services — E1s and DSL packages — to the Cabinet for consideration.

The fact it was sent was seen as an “excellent move” by the telecom minister. To what extent the TRA was involved in drafting the new bill was also not revealed.

Among the issues raised by the LTA members with Sehnaoui and his advisors were concerns about the obstacles they are facing in E1 provisioning, DSL expansion, creation of a one-stop-shop office for ISPs/DSPs, long term licenses, and fair competition.


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