Third submarine cable
to boost Internet service

The aim is to turn Lebanon

into a regional hub for Internet distribution

The Ministry of Telecommunications (MoT) has plans for a new Internet submarine cable to link the country to Europe, said Minister of Telecommunications Mohamad Choucair.

The aim is to boost the Internet service locally and to turn Lebanon into a hub for Internet distribution to countries in the region, he said.

Once the studies related to the project are completed, a tender will be launched which will be implemented in partnership with other parties. Lebanon will pay part of the cost of the cable project and will later share in the revenues that it will generate from its operation.

Another cable project is scheduled to be launched this year. This new undersea cable will replace the ‘Cadmus’ cable which links Lebanon to Cyprus. The project will be executed in partnership with the Cyprus Telecommunications Authority (Cyta).

Besides ‘Cadmos’, Lebanon is currently connected to the outside world by the submarine cable ‘Alexandros’ which links the country to France through Cyprus.

According to Choucair, the 4G mobile network now covers 85 percent of the Lebanese territory and will become available in the remaining areas in the coming months.

He said that the MoT is working with international companies to test the 5G service and assess its potential efficiency.

The MoT is deploying exceptional efforts to complete the fiber optic project within two years and as a result the fiber optics network will cover the entire country, Choucair said.