4.5G mobile Internet
will be ready in September

Speedy high-definition (HD) voice and video

Alfa, the mobile network managed by Egypt’s Orascom Telecom, has signed contracts with Ericsson and Nokia to deploy the 4.5G service countrywide.

The project will boost the grid’s speed to 300 megabits per second. It is part of the Ministry of Telecommunications’ 2020 five-year plan to develop the telecom sector, Alfa said today in a statement.

Telecom Minister Boutros Harb said deployment work will be completed this September instead of the end of 2016, as previously announced.

Marwan Hayek, CEO of Alfa said: “More than 30 companies will be involved in implementing this project, which means that 5,500 individuals will work in it directly.” He said that 1,300 stations will be installed all over the country and that annual consumption of data will increase to 80,000 terabits by 2020 from the current 15,000 terabits. The new Internet speeds will allow the use of HD voice and HD video streaming applications, in addition to apps in the field of healthcare, education, and the ‘Internet of Things’.

Alfa also signed a memorandum of understanding with Ericsson and Nokia to exchange information and technical know-how with the two telecom companies, in order to make sure its network is ready for the 5G technology that will be introduced in Lebanon by mid-2018.

Harb said last year that the cost to upgrade the country’s mobile networks to 4G would range between $120 million and $130 million.