Participants at the Beirut One conference, talking on the phone in front of the entrance to the Seaside Pavilion, on Nov. 18, 2025. (Credit: Philippe Hage Boutros/L’Orient-Le Jour)
Telecommunications Minister Charles al-Hajj announced during the Beirut One conference, which has been taking place since Tuesday in the capital, "the launch of a new national vision for the sector, aimed at transforming telecommunications from a state revenue source into a key driver of economic growth," according to the state-run National News Agency (NNA).
He presented "a three-year plan that includes expanding the fiber optic network to 500,000 households, with 325,000 already in the tendering phase, as well as modernizing mobile networks to achieve 70 percent 5G coverage."
Lebanon also plans to enhance its "international connectivity" by deploying a new submarine cable and connecting to Starlink, Elon Musk's satellite-based high-speed internet service.
A majority of these announcements had been made in recent months, while the government signed a decree in October granting Starlink a two-year license.
In his presentation, Hajj stated that "ongoing reforms, such as the reactivation of the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority [TRA] and the establishment of 'Liban Telecom' in accordance with law 431 [from 2002], will pave the way for transparent investment partnerships following the public-private partnership model."
The Cabinet appointed the first members of the TRA board on Sept. 11, but the decree was challenged in November before the State Council by Wassim Mansour, former general manager of Lebanese mobile operator Touch in the mid-2010s, in association with the NGO Legal Agenda.
Lebanon remains significantly behind neighboring countries and international standards in connectivity.
