Friday, December 02, 2005

Lebnanon finally gets DSL

On a totally different note, I just wanted to jump with joy and announce that the Daily Star has published a story with the following title: Lebanon finally enters the DSL era.
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Never mind the fact that this story might as well be 10 years old. Never mind the fact that software companies and other businesses in the IT industry need much faster connections such as those provided by cable in the United States, which is at least four times as fast as DSL.
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Lebanese consumers and businesses will finally get broadband connections in the year 2006! 2006!!!! My God! It took that friggen long! I wonder how many young men and women went overseas in search of jobs, but could have stayed in Lebanon and worked for an IT company if broadband service was made available in 1996.
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You see! I tried to celebrate... I swear I tried! But three paragraphs into my celebration, I ended up cringing. Now, I can't help but think that thus far, Lebanon is a story of lost potential and wasted opportunities! This post-war trend really needs to be reversed soon!
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Here are some facts from the article:
  • in the Middle East, the IT sector has grown by 9.8% over the past year (more than double the world average)
  • in Lebanon, the IT sector has grown by 20% over the past year
  • a Professional Computer Association (PCA) exists in Lebanon
  • one of its board members is Camile Moukarzel
  • DSL service will begin in January of 2006
  • A service package will cost between $40 - $50 a month (double the price in the United States)

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

Forty-fifty dollars per month is very good for first-generation service. My first high-speed connection was in Germany, and I paid Deutsch Telekom about 70 dollars a month - that would be more now, considering how the dollar was stronger then (the fee was in euros, that is). In Lebanon, I routinely paid 100 dollars a month for dialup service, considering the tolls for the calls as well as the monthly subscription rate. DSL will be a better deal.

Any thoughts on why this process has been accelerated? Do you think that you could apply LP's analysis (lack of Syrian involvement in the telecoms industry) to the sudden jump in industry confidence?

Anonymous said...

No, the price still sucks. Your neighbours in Israel pay $13 per month and new deals come out all the time.

Oh and don't believe cable propoganda. It way be faster than DSL in principle but that's if no one else in your neighbourhood is online. Unlike DSL, cable users share their bandwidth which can make for some pretty slow surfing at times (I've tried both).

Abu Kais said...

OH THANK GOD!

I spent two weeks in Lebanon in November and internet access was a nightmare. Now I can plan for longer vacations and take my work with me. :)

Anonymous said...
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Anonymous said...

Is it for real?

I can go back to Lebanon now. Slow internet was even more problematic then the Syrians!

Lazarus said...

About time!!

I don't know who implemented it, but this has been under "research" in Ogera for the last ... ummm ... 3 - 4 years (to be on the safe side).

Lazarus said...

*ogero

JoseyWales said...

-About time

-"lost opportunity" is another name for Lebanon (and the Arabs)

-DSL is about as fast as cable (cable slows down with number of users

-Lebanon should be the IT hub of the whole ME and should benefit from offshoring by Arabs and others. Israel does and all you need is people (we got them) and good electronic connections.

Anonymous said...

Congrats! Just to note, I'm in USA and I pay $50mo. (rural, monopoly).But,sure,it's worth it.