Fiber optic internet rollout relaunched in Lebanon

Telecommunications Minister Charles Hajj announced this week the resumption of the country’s fiber-optic internet rollout after years of stalling caused by the onset of the economic crisis in 2019 and, more recently, by the war between Israel and Hezbollah.

The project, launched in 2018, was supposed to be completed by 2022. In mid-2023, Imad Kreidieh, then head of Ogero — the state-owned fixed-line operator and internet provider — said the project had reached only “25 percent” of its targets.

Since then, telecom rates have been adjusted to the Lebanese lira's new exchange rate, allowing authorities to restart the rollout.

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A 16- to 24-month timeline

Ogero has posted two tenders on the Public Procurement Authority’s website, both expiring Dec. 5, 2025: one for the import of cables, equipment and spare parts for the fiber-optic network, and the other for installation and engineering work.

In a message on X, Hajj said “over 325,000 homes” will benefit from the Fiber to the Home (FTTH) rollout, which should be completed within “16 to 24 months.” He said the expansion “will grant FTTH access to major cities, a real leap toward Lebanon’s digital future.”

“Households that will be served first are those already equipped with a DSL box,” Ogero director Ahmad Oueidat told L’Orient-Le Jour. He added that funding “has already been allocated in the state’s 2024 and 2025 budgets” and is ready to be disbursed.

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According to Ogero, the rollout will cover areas served by central offices in the following areas:

Jbeil district

• Amchit
• Jbeil

Beirut district

• Amrousieh
• Bir Hasan
• Riad al-Solh
• Ras al-Nabeh
• Dora

Tripoli district

• Bab al-Tabbaneh
• Tripoli

Batroun district

• Batroun

Chouf district

• Beit Eddine

Metn district

• Beit Mery
• Dbayeh
• Mansourieh
• Jal al-Dib
• Jdeideh
• Sin al-Fil
• Elissar
• Dikwaneh

Kesrouan district

• Jounieh
• Zouk Mikael
• Kfar Yassin
• Jeita

Saida district

• Saida

Baabda district

• Mreijeh
• Hadath
• Furn al-Shubbak, Tahwitat al-Nahr
• Chiyah

Aley district

• Deir Qoubel

Le déploiement d’internet par fibre optique relancé au Liban