The first consumer boycott of the Lebanese cellular network was endorsed by a wide coalition of syndicates and professional organizations. The main organizers of the boycott were the consumer rights non-governmental organization, Consumers Lebanon, which had urged the country’s nearly 800,000 mobile phone users to press for a cut in basic rates and per-minute charges by shutting down their mobile phones for 24 hours on July 15.
Initial estimates of participation in the boycott varied wildly, from more than 60% by the organizers to little over 10% by the ministry of telecommunications, which is in charge of setting mobile phone rates for the two network operators LibanCell and Cellis. Notably however, the telecommunications minister, Jean-Louis Qordahi, responded to the boycott’s substantial public attention by saying the ministry would shortly be submitting a revised cell phone pricing structure to the Cabinet.
A few days later, representatives of Consumers Lebanon modified their high estimates of the boycott. Business users could not be expected to switch off their mobiles for a full day, the executive director of Consumers Lebanon, Abdelrahman Berro, told Executive while making a rhetorical claim to the protest’s general support: “For us, 95% of users are with the boycott,” he said. “Who is against a reduction in costs?” The target of the boycott was the government, not the mobile phone operators. Berro attributed to government manipulation the fact that excessive cellular rates were blamed on the networks’ operators.
If no change in prices comes about, Consumers Lebanon plans to repeat the boycott in mid-August. The organization has set its mind on creating a permanent framework for staging civil disobedience against numerous government-mandated costs. “We will make many boycotts,” Berro said.
