Telecoms Minister Johnny Corm during his tour of Beirut's southern suburbs this week. (Photo courtesy of the ministry)
On Friday, a week after the cease-fire between Israel and Hezbollah came into effect, Lebanon's caretaker Telecommunications Minister, Johnny Corm, provided an initial assessment of the damage inflicted on the country's telecommunications networks by the Israeli army's airstrikes.
Speaking to L’Orient-Le Jour, he discussed several key issues addressed Friday during the Cabinet session, focusing on the pending issue of the country’s connection to the satellite internet network.
In an interview with Radio Sputnik quoted by the state-run National News Agency (NNA) on Friday, the minister said that the total estimated damage to Lebanon’s telecommunications sector due to the war was “between $88 million and $117 million,” according to a preliminary estimate.
Almost a third of the damage affects the fixed-line network, according to the same estimate, which still needs to be refined.
The minister, who visited the southern suburbs of Beirut this week to inspect the damage caused by Israeli shelling, also announced that significant progress had been made in the restoration of the mobile network relay stations.
Since the cease-fire came into effect, over half of the damaged relay stations have been repaired: 79 stations for Alfa and 126 for Touch. He added that he would soon head to southern Lebanon and the Bekaa for further inspections.
In addition, he mentioned that “30,000 of Touch’s 700,000 subscribers were still unable to connect to the mobile data network,” a figure he described as “acceptable given the extent of the damage.”
The minister then announced “an urgent plan to secure internet service in the affected areas,” thanks to the deployment of “new relay stations in southern Lebanon, in the Bekaa and in the southern suburbs of Beirut.”
This project was made possible thanks to a Chinese donation, the amount of which has not been disclosed.
According to the minister, this donation will allow the installation of 250 new stations in the first phase, followed by an additional 385 stations in the second phase.
Corm reiterated his intention to continue his visits to the affected areas, particularly in southern Lebanon and the Bekaa, to assess the damage on the ground, and recalled that the cabinet had exceptionally planned to meet in Sour on Saturday.
Remote learning
Corm outlined the measures taken by his ministry to support public school teachers and students in the wake of the destruction caused by the war between the Israeli army and Hezbollah.
“The plan consists of granting 20 gigabytes of free data per person per month, according to a list of teachers and students prepared by the Education and Higher Education Ministry, which has been sent to us,” he explained.
This free data will be exclusively reserved for the use of the Microsoft Teams video messaging application, which is one of the platforms compatible with remote learning, and for accessing a series of websites selected by the Education Ministry.
“The list of websites may be updated by the ministry, according to previously established criteria,” the minister said.
This initiative is aimed at subscribers of the Alfa and Touch mobile operators, and although it has been in place for a week, it was only approved by the cabinet on Wednesday. It will be implemented for an initial period of three months, or even less if the cease-fire is confirmed and allows for a lasting return to calm.
Corm also mentioned a draft decree designed to allow the public operator, Ogero, to double the internet connection speed on its network, exceptionally and at no additional cost.
This measure, similar to the one adopted during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021 and 2022, was mainly intended for the private sector for a limited period. However, due to the relative stability of the 60-day cease-fire, the draft will not be submitted to the cabinet for the time being. “It could be put back on the table if the security situation deteriorates,” he said.
As for the Starlink project, revived on Wednesday by caretaker Economy and Trade Minister Amin Salam, Corm said it remained at a standstill. In recent months, Lebanon implemented measures to deploy the satellite internet access service of SpaceX, Elon Musk's company.
“I am still waiting for the security services to confirm whether or not they agree to install servers for data storage abroad, among other issues related to data access. Once these points have been clarified, I will be able to submit a commercial proposal to the Cabinet to negotiate with the operator,” the minister added.
This article was originally published in French in L’Orient-Le Jour.
