Internet Services: Cable, ADSL, DSL in Lebanon?

[Raficoo]

hey teodorgeorgiev just a few days after tryin out that new free dial-up service, somthin went wrong, they said phone line is busy, did somthin happen, did they shut it down or it's because they there 2 many ports being used, this is problem temperary or permantly what goin on ????

and why is there DSL now in beirut then tripoli but not soon after SAIDA

[teodorgeorgiev]

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[Raficoo]

hey DSL is coming to lebanon ok and then they shut down broadband services, why cauze they don't have enough bandwidth, a LIMITATION, and why they didn't take off the broadband services information in the isps's websites, is it true for a speed of 128kb/s by broadband it costs 45$ and 512kb/s via DSL is 40$$$$, can this be true

still wonder if their right about DSL finally arriving at end of june??

[Raficoo]

Teodorgeorgiev,

well i know that the visp company desided to run free dial-up but there i have a question that could be for my situation ONLY,

i am not using a account from isp's not from terranet, cyberia idm well i get the internet from bank audi that way i get a free acount, but DOES IT
DEPENDS ON WHICH ACCOUNT I USE FOR THE MONEY FOR INTERNET,
OR DOES IT DEPEND HOW MUCH I USE INTERNET ON ANY ACCOUNT?

SO THAT MEAN IS MONEY GOING OUT THE ACCOUNT THAT ANY1s USING OR, IS IT COMING OUT OF MY ACCOUNT SINCE a HAVE A INTERNET DIAL_UP CONNECTION and IS PAYING FOR THE MONEY

PLEASE ANSWER......
(MY MOST SERIOUS QUESTION FOR NOW))

SO I"LL BE SURE THAT I'm NOT THE ONLY PERSON USING FREE INTERNET FOR NOT FREE

[nuclearcat]

Does you mean Ogero charges you? Your question is not clear.
If you are talking about telephone bills (because Ogero charges connection to dialup in different manner), yes, they will charge you. Include also, that your PC is not for free, electricity also have cost, and vice versa.

[teodorgeorgiev]

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[Raficoo]

no u guys didn't get my point,

i'll make this as simple as possible to say

will ogero charge me if i'm using the free dial-up connection by each hour or do they charge me by which account to use(and no nuclearcat this has nothing to do with telephone bills(u mean the normal telephone that can also be used to talk).

and i have a second line internet connection (i use another internet and the phone works)

hope u guys get my point

[Raficoo]

teodorgeorgiev,

i visited the visp's website, and they say on the website, there is DSL in beirut,heard people shut down broadband services and that tripoli and another town is next town that's going to be available for DSL service,
well i don't get it, when is the REAL DSL COMING, is it there or not and visp's website is the only website that says DSL is in beirut.

is this true or what?

[teodorgeorgiev]

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[admin]

Hello everybody, just a quick "police" check from the admin

"Raficoo", please avoid capitals letters and try to make clear sentences

"teodorgeorgiev", your company offers are very cool... The free DIAL UP offer is BIG premiere in Lebanon, and VISP deserves to be talked about!!! (This exists in all countries since before 2000, and it is extremely useful as a backup, when you're not at home or when there is a break down on your main connexion.)

BUT please "teodor", be very precise & avoid commercial effects... About DSL in particular, your site shows a simple page with no details AT ALL... In this forum, if you say "we offer DSL", we think that you should always state the AREA you are covering, the WAITING TIME on your waiting list, and at least the average PRICES... Otherwise, if one of those 3 points is missing, someone might interpret your interventions as smart "seeding" web marketing ONLY, which I am sure they aren't

Your Broadband services are more or less the same standart WIRELESS offer that most providers offer in Lebanon.

Your DSL offer is very blury for the moment... and on your website, and in this forum, it seems you're playing with this ambiguity. Please tell me I am wrong: put more info on your website, & if possible, let us know all the details you can in one clear message... Areas / Speed / Prices / Availablility...

[shlon]

Friday, February 03, 2006

Arrival of DSL in Lebanon fraught with problems
By Meris Lutz
Special to The Daily Star

Over a month ago, the Ministry of Telecommunications announced it had signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with local data and internet service providers (ISPs) to bring DSL to Lebanon, which would increase the speed of Internet connection and possibly jumpstart a struggling information technology sector.

However, Lebanon's international cable does not have the capacity to offer DSL on a large scale, causing the ministry to charge data providers an artificially high price for access to the cable and state-owned telephone lines DSL uses.

The ministry sets the tariff for access to the international cable, rent of local switches [collocation] and of the last mile to a household modem, the most costly being the international connection.

"It's very expensive when compared to the international benchmark, or even the regional benchmark," Sodetel chairman, Patrick Farajian said of the tariff.

This cost is passed onto the customers, who are expected to pay between $40-$50 a month, not including a $100 startup fee - more than twice as much as in Jordan and Cyprus.

Telecommunications Minister Marwan Hamade admitted there is a bottleneck for the international cable, but that the ministry is working to expand capacity.

"The ministry has been paralyzed for years while the main items discussed were conflicts with the mobile companies," he said. "Now that we are out of this mess we can address the issue of broadband."

In addition, he said educational institutions will receive special preference for DSL access, and that while the cost of DSL will be high, the ministry is planning an overall reduction in tariffs, which would make existing dialup cheaper.

But many outside the ministry - ISPs, consultants, and analysts - say the government has had plenty of time to increase broadband and remain
skeptical of the MOU.

"The cost is prohibitive, it's meant to discourage use," said Kamel Shehadi, managing director of Connexus Consulting, a telecom regulation
consulting agency. "They cannot meet the demand of any user who asks for it; the government has not done enough in the past 4-5 years to increase bandwidth."

Shehadi said he thinks influential actors who invested heavily in satellite and wireless services discouraged the acquisition of more broadband because it would provide a cheaper alternative.

"There are vested interests against Lebanon having greater international connection," he said. "These vested interests can only be overcome if the minister continues to force the acquisition of greater bandwidth."

Riyad Bahsoum from the United Nations International Telecommunications Union attributed the ministry's failure to acquire more broadband to the "lack of sustainable regulatory environment."

"This is the reason why I believe it will not be deployed," he added.

Hamade said that the creation of the Telecommunications Regulatory Committee is "imminent."

In addition to the relatively high estimated price of DSL, the ministry has yet to finalize this and other terms of use necessary before the initial pilot phase of the MOU can begin.

The plan to offer DSL is broken down into two stages: The first is a pilot phase due to begin around late March, which allows six ISPs to offer DSL to 360 customers each in Beirut. Six months after the initial pilot, providers are planning to offer DSL to the rest of the country.

"Before being put into practice [the pilot], some decrees need to be issued," IT director of Ogero Toufic Chebaro said.

The fact that many of the logistics of the MOU have not been finalized is causing some ISPs to doubt the project will be launched on schedule.

"When you say decrees, things take time," Farajian said.

In addition to determining leasing fees, the ministry has yet to finalize the licensing of the data providers, many of which are currently only allowed to provide wireless.

Copyright (c) 2006 The Daily Star"

voilà...
Let's dream with the superprofessional apes that we vote to... No normal internet for a 4th world country like ours.

[shlon]

What you say is very interesting, and visp's website is full of colors... but still...

1) What the heck is your interest of offering FREE DIAL-UP?
2) Why is your website so secret about DSL fees?
3) You don't say in your site weather boradband is limited monthly, or unlimited for the fees your propose...

quid?

[shlon]

theo, i just tried your demo connection, it took me 3 times to get connected [even IDM doesn't make it so painful] and i lost the connection 2mn later...

i wonder... in such conditions, i'd personnally rather fight with a cable <i>dekkanjeh</i>, at least you know lousy connections are their specialty. thing you are not prepared to when you use a dial-up.

[teodorgeorgiev]

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[murex]

I tried the free dial-up. It works very well

Shlon, it is not uncommon to offer Dial Up for free. There are offers like this in all countries. It is a fair & very clean marketing strategy. Just for that VISP are now little local heros in the sad history in Internet in Lebanon.

But I don't agree with VISP's Company Policy... to force people to come in person to get the info... and to claim to offer DSL... This is on the verge of being illegal... I think that in Europe & US, it could be illegal... Even if it is not, this is a VERY BAD language for a company.

LOGIC says that if you are UNABLE to give transparent & precise info about your DSL offer (AREA + SPEED + PRICE + AVAILABILITY) please stop posting in this forum as a VISP representative. You've said enough already, and we appreciate it. We know your site now, you even sound cool & serious as a person, but please either give the FULL info, or try to play this advertising "oriental dance" technique or whatever seeding strategy somewhere else... No bad feelings please... This is beyond my personal control... This is the strict "COMPANY POLICY" of our forum towards other companies posting messages in it.