In a world where information, technology and communication converge constantly, the rapidity and efficiency of a country’s telecommunication system are key to the development of its society. In Lebanon, where the telecom sector is decades old, a group of professionals is trying to promote the importance of broadband in businesses and society overall, with an awareness campaign scheduled for next month.
“There is no real broadband in Lebanon, where communication speed and download capacity are extremely low. I really believe that the term broadband should no longer be used loosely to refer to speeds of less than one megabyte per second upload speed,” says Salam Yamout, chief program manager at Cisco and member of the Lebanese Broadband Stakeholders Group steering committee.
A dirt road of an information highway
Broadband refers to telecommunication allowing information to be transmitted over a wide band of frequencies in a given amount of time.
Lebanon’s telephone infrastructure was built in 1993. Three years later Internet was introduced, using phones lines for data transportation. Unfortunately, today Lebanon is no longer on par with other countries in the region or the Western world.
“Connectivity does not only refer to Internet connections as it also has other uses. Individuals and the private sector have different needs for connectivity,” adds Yamout. “Individuals usually want to have their home connected over a single broadband connection to have access to many applications and services such as TV, video on demand, telephone directory services, Triple Play, the Internet and other services. For businesses, insuring connectivity between branches nationally and internationally is essential. An illustration we could all relate to is connecting branches in the banking sector.”
Jennifer Sarraf, IT manager at Malia Group, reckons that connectivity is vital to her company’s operation, which owns offices in three different areas of Lebanon as well as abroad. “In spite of disposing of four DSL lines, accounting for monthly bills of over $5,000, our company is unable to make proper use of its new software system which relies on high speed internet connection, due to connectivity problems,” she adds. Issuing invoices by connecting to the company’s central server is a process that requires as much as 15 minutes because of slow connectivity, explains the IT manager. The company has been forced to invest in three servers instead of one because slow connections render remote backup operations extremely difficult. “We faced similar problems when expanding in Jordan, as our international branches did not have the possibility to properly connect to our headquarters’ system,” Sarraf remarks. Backups are therefore done daily and manually on tape, which are then couriered to the company’s headquarters.
Broadband connectivity has been linked to lower costs and higher productivity, two things Lebanese businesses are in need of, while slow connections are synonymous with lost opportunities in our global world.
Yamout points out that while in number of users Lebanon ranks high among other countries in the region, it lags behind in terms of speed of connections and affordability. “The idea for creating a Lebanese Broadband Stakeholders Group stemmed from a conference held last year in January,” says Yamout. “ICT company owners had complained they were losing thousands of work hours due to slow connection. Their testimonial was backed by the dean of the American University of Beirut who had argued that greater connectivity could allow Lebanon to save lives with the use of remote medicine. And a broadcasting company reported loss of income and business opportunities because of the lack of availability of broadband services in Lebanon,” explains Yamout. Stakeholders, headed by the steering committee including professionals and business leaders representing Lebanese industries, decided to pen their grievances in a document that was called the ‘Broadband Manifesto’.
“lebanon is not advancing at the same speed as technology is globally”
The Broadband Manifesto
The manifesto was signed by more than 500 people including heads of all Lebanese chambers of commerce, professional associations such as the union of industrialists and association of Lebanese banks, major television stations, the bar association as well as the order of Lebanese doctors.
The document calls for true broadband, affordable and reliable for all, which allows for economic and social development as broadband reduces costs to business and improves productivity. Broadband is not to be perceived as a source of revenue and thus should not be overtaxed. Preserving privacy and security was another point mentioned in the manifesto. The broadband market should be a simple, fair and competitive market, something that can only be attained with the liberalization of the telecom market at all levels of networks — international, national and transmission — highlights the manifesto. Access to public infrastructure should be made possible for license providers. No restriction on content or application and service should be applied, while support and development of local content and development of online services ought to be supported by the government.
Today, an economy’s growth and development rests on its ability to process information using communications technology and the ability of consumers, businesses and governments to use ICT to their benefit. Therefore, policymakers should facilitate the creation of an environment where digital connections can thrive.
“We need to build the telecom infrastructure using new technologies that adapt to current uses. Experts believe the completion of a national network would require approximately one to three years,” asserts Yamout.
“Let the market build it…”says the E-readiness report by the Economist Intelligence Unit, adding that “It has long been true that competitive telecommunications and Internet service markets are more efficient than governments in building networks and finding affordable price points for consumers. Policymakers should allow market forces to determine the course of the digital economy.”
Yamout admits that the Lebanese telecom sector, which is still discovering itself, needs to be liberalized. “Lebanon is not advancing at the same speed that technology is globally. Price differences are also extremely high. For example, in Lebanon one can obtain a 256 kilobyte per second connection for $30, while in the West the same price can guarantee you a 350 megabyte per second” connection.
To create awareness, the Broadband Now Group is launching a campaign using mass media, combined with professional seminars and lobbying activities. “People have to be aware that Broadband is essential to a country like Lebanon because of its large Diaspora present around the world,” concludes Yamout.
