Though Lebanon has a high international capacity coming in through underwater fiber optic cables — to the likes of several hundreds of megabits per second (Mbit/s) — internet speeds at the actual level of the user are overwhelmingly low. In Beirut, they average about 3.2 Mbit/s according to the Ookla Net Index for household downloads, calculated over a 30 day period ending March 18. This is not considered broadband by modern definitions, and pales in comparison to the global average of 22.3 Mbit/s, calculated over the same time frame. But the problem is manifold: getting broadband internet in the country faces layers of obstacles. Here are four of the main reasons why internet speeds in Lebanon are suffering. 1. The brand new fiber optic network is not on Lebanon’s newest fiber optic network, by all appearances, is completely switched off. The project was commissioned in 2011 by then Minister of Telecommunications
Wonderful article Livia. It’s fitting that you left what I think is the most important reason last. When I lived in Lebanon, the cost and related corruption was the often-cited reason for such poor Internet. I’m not surprised that nothing has changed, unfortunately.
Omar ChatahApril 10, 2015 - 12:10 PM
I get 70 Mbps over LTE at my house in Beirut routinely. At $150 for 60GB a month that’s quite affordable and super fast.
Omar, with all respect, you live in a bubble. The speeds you describe are only available in limited parts of the capital. Even in the suburbs, I just did a speedtest and got 3.5mbps download and 0.1mbps upload, no 4G coverage. Huge parts of the country do not get any coverage or even DSL. Secondly, $150 per month for limited bandwidth is not a good deal anywhere in the world, let alone in Lebanon where the minimum wage is less than $500 per month. You also left out the fact that after 60 GB, which will be eaten up quickly in this day and age, that every additional gig will be charged at an astronomical rate of nearly $100 per gig, which is simply outrageous. Just because you can afford it, doesn’t mean most people can. I’m not sure why you keep defending this malfunctioning system that only benefits a few.
joe elyahchouchiJanuary 21, 2016 - 11:38 AM
And what good is that speed with a limit of 60 GB? with 70mbps your 60GB would last exactly 2 hours.
Congratulations, you just bought 2 hours of good internet for 150$.
Abraham AbrahamianAugust 3, 2016 - 10:16 PM
lol that’s true.. I was in Armenia for 2 years, I used to have unlimited wifi, 34 Mbps only for 15$… Internet in Lebanon sucks big time
FrankyAugust 17, 2016 - 9:45 AM
Quit affordable?? You must be working with Ogero! What a ridiculous claim!!
M.HAugust 23, 2017 - 7:48 AM
I pay $135 in qatar and get a speed of around 130 M/s and 1000GB per month. And that is expensive!
Sorry Lebanon is a corrupt down to its bones… you see the corruption in its roads and internet and all its infrastructure.
Anthony shayneApril 1, 2018 - 12:59 AM
Omar you surely do live in a bubble! 150% for 70 Mbps and limited to 60 GB ? that’s a total rip off! i’m paying 50 euros for 50 Mbps download and 8 Mbps upload and i have no limit!! and my country (Cyprus) is considered really expensive on internet!
They are just ripping you off,like they do on every single thing in Lebanon!
Margot GApril 20, 2018 - 3:58 PM
Hello Omar, I will be working remotely from Lebanon and dialing into my offices here in the US for 3 weeks beginning in June 2018. Which company did you secure you internet with can I ask? I need to get this setup as I am thinking the speed offered at my hotel will not suffice. Awaiting your response. Margot
CyrilApril 17, 2015 - 1:47 AM
^Omar Chatah ,70Mps / 60 Gb for $160 is that considered affordable ?if you have an apple tv ,gaming on ps4 , stream and download movies/games , how much would you pay for an unlimited package ?
I wish they offer a package like tmobile offers in the States , 70$ unlimited LTE , unlimited internal calls , unlimited sms …
Just make it unlimited LTE and it’s ok
I am paying more than 300$ on a 4g bundle by alfa and exeed the monthly consumption by double !
Internet distribution is a true challenge for ISPs when the government chooses to compete head to head with the private sector. That’s absurd, the government should be an enabler.
BadranApril 19, 2015 - 11:25 PM
Just move to Dubai if you are in the tech industry. Unfortunately, you’ll still be writing articles about this topic years to come. I’ve been reading them since 2004 (11 years now).
AbdoApril 24, 2015 - 1:07 PM
Bull shit ministry of telecomunication. I live in France I have unlimited data with 1000 Mégabits/s down and 200 Mégabits up fibre optic with TV included at 27 euros per month = 45 000 LL. Siyesiyeh afshal men hayk mafi. Mish shatrin gheir y7otto 3ossi bil dwalib. Kell waz7ad byejeh bi wa2ef mashrou3 li2ablo bass li2anno mish men siyeseto. W balad bado yemshi.
Thats a really good point Abdo. Bassil first announced fiber plans in 2009, and so has every subsequent minister, but what happened? Today DSL in Lebanon is just as slow in terms of global standards as it was 10 years ago. I think what is happening in telecom underscores a bigger issue which is how planning happens in ministries. The average lifespan of a Lebanese minister is about 1 year. Does this cause a rush for short term projects they can claim credit for while in office?
I would like to move back to Lebanon, but this is one of the many reasons that I hesitate to do so.
What a shame on the Ministry of Telecommunications and those responsible.
Fadel sobhSeptember 13, 2015 - 4:22 PM
Ever since i arrived to Lebanon i havent been able to play one online game decently with my friends all around the world. Either the government decides to take out my electricity or my ISP is providing me with TERRIBLE internet leading to the loss of connection to the host almost every game. Honestly its embarrassing, my friend from Netherlands the other day asked me if “Al Qaeda” was my ISP. Or everytime I live stream over night with a couple friends and have a decent ammount of viewers, then suddenly it shows that i timed out, making me look bad just because my country (Lebanon) cannot provide me with electricity 24/7 or at least a decent internet connection. I hope we get over this issue soon.
Eddy Abi RachedOctober 17, 2015 - 10:07 PM
You have just tapped into the major inquiry for gamers in Lebanon. And while most people don’t actually know this, I would like to clarify that Lebanon is very good in the gaming department, as shown by our DOTA 2, CS : GO and League Of Legends very active scenes. Even some of us, are actually competing in the Leaderboards of those games in the regions that we can safely play on (mainly Europe West) of which a professional player for the Lebanese team E-Lab “GH” is in the top 10 players in DOTA 2 on EU West. I once sat down with the man, had a chat, and found out, quite quickly in fact, that the main problem for Lebanese gamers is the high ping. He told me, that when he goes with his all-lebanese team abroad for competitions, he can see himself move and execute faster, and that is all because of the ping, as to while in Lebanon, he expressed that is hard to find nice Gaming Lounges that offer a ping of under a playable 100ms to EU West.
One thing that gamers will be glad to have in Lebanon, is the ping reduction. Most of us don’t actually care about the speed, electricity blackouts, and even our “ever-so-happening unexplained loss of Internet”. We, as traditional Lebanese folk, have adapted: speed has been a thing of the past, blackouts don’t matter anymore since we route our routers through an uninterrupted power supply, and we have grown accustomed to the Internet being generally glitchy. However, it is quite a funny scene when you join a game with friend abroad and they ask if our ISP is “Al Qaeda”. Quite a common reply nowadays is : ” No! Al Qaeda would have better ping…”
WalterNovember 22, 2015 - 7:08 PM
Even in Romania, the internet speed is much higher than in Lebanon. Nearly all over Europe you can have a speed up to more hundred mb/s. In my house in Austria, I have 250mb/s down and 50mb/s upstream, in my house in Romania a little slower but nearly the same. In Austria UPC offers me beside the unlimited Internet also 140 TV channels and the landline for free. It costs me 55 Euro per month which is about 60 USD, in Romania only the unlimited Internet 12 Euro per month.
A random citizenApril 20, 2016 - 5:04 PM
Most Lebanese citizens are suffering from this bad and super slow internet. Especially gamers, that no one in this country take into consideration. If I want to get a DLC pack (that is like 7GB), it would last over 3 or 4 days being downloaded. And other than just for gamers, the Internet in Lebanon should be fixed, the responsibles must find a solution.
AhmadAugust 30, 2016 - 7:23 PM
I actually play gta online on a 0.2mbps download with no problems at all.. lol
It’s about upload speed. If you test it at a gaming lounge they only have about 1 mbs down, and 15 up
CyrilApril 30, 2018 - 9:13 PM
Ok A random citizen, this is where i have to step in. So you’re telling me that with the average download speed in lebanon (something like 2mbps idk) it would take 3 or 4 days to download? Honestly I downloaded Crysis 1 (11-16 gb) in nearly 16 hours or something like that, I also download Warframe (20-23gb) in 1-2 days. And no, my download speed isnt that super fast 200gbps internet, i literally have a 0.4mbps download speed and it averages at about 0.2-0.35kbps
Maba3rif leh l3alam ba3da bte7ke 3an hal dawle, talama fi Militia bi Lebnen lbalad 7aydal Zbele.
Also it’s lovely to see someone that still cares about this Country. But the only way this country will achieve something is by a Civil war it’s obvious but no one dares to say it because too much blood is already shed.
I hate seeing this Country shocking on it’s own shit because no one has the balls to stand up and fight for what you believe in.
I do live in Lebanon and I hate this hell hole but i’ill always be Lebanese a citizen till the day I die and no one can take that from me.
samiOctober 3, 2016 - 11:43 PM
great article
yussef961October 31, 2016 - 3:53 AM
to the likes of several hundreds of megabits per second (Mbit/s) whhaaat event that is slow at my home 8 have 945 mbit/s
This is mad. Nearly every other country is probably 50 years more advanced than Lebanon, even though Lebanon was one of the first Arabic countries to get internet. Lebanon has some catching up to do.
Walid BoutrosDecember 15, 2016 - 12:11 PM
dont waste your time debating here, if we need so much time to download and read with these crappy Lebanese speeds. The internet in Lebanon is the epitome of greed, thuggery, incompetence, inefficiency, and corruption. It is no different to water, electricity, parliament, presidents, parties. Technical and administrative explanations are all very nice, and thanks for educating us. Until we find something that will make the people rise and fight our corrupt political system, like garbage almost did, you will get nowhere. Boutros Harb or not.
AnonymousDudeJune 5, 2017 - 9:33 AM
Everything would be better if we remained under the french rule…. The govement would actually quite care about the woes its people are suffering from….
MarwanSeptember 15, 2017 - 2:21 AM
Privatization is the solutiin
ImadMarch 6, 2019 - 6:36 PM
Yeah i would say one thing about lebanon i currently live in it its trash from every direction Internet, Food, Water, Electricity and even electronics Stores here try to rip u off like its their daily job a samsung essential 24 inch curved here costs 350$! and in dubai (when i traveled there) it was 150$ good thing i didint buy it but even the internet is straight off a scheme every lebanese man or woman just think about whatsapp thats why omar said that 60gb 150mb/s is something huge although its trash compared to dubai they are just living in a huge bubble and dont know how their leaders (governers) are miss treating them
Comments are closed.
Forgot Password
Please Login
Please Sign up
✅ Registration successful!
Please check your email to verify your account.
31 comments
Wonderful article Livia. It’s fitting that you left what I think is the most important reason last. When I lived in Lebanon, the cost and related corruption was the often-cited reason for such poor Internet. I’m not surprised that nothing has changed, unfortunately.
I get 70 Mbps over LTE at my house in Beirut routinely. At $150 for 60GB a month that’s quite affordable and super fast.
Omar, with all respect, you live in a bubble. The speeds you describe are only available in limited parts of the capital. Even in the suburbs, I just did a speedtest and got 3.5mbps download and 0.1mbps upload, no 4G coverage. Huge parts of the country do not get any coverage or even DSL. Secondly, $150 per month for limited bandwidth is not a good deal anywhere in the world, let alone in Lebanon where the minimum wage is less than $500 per month. You also left out the fact that after 60 GB, which will be eaten up quickly in this day and age, that every additional gig will be charged at an astronomical rate of nearly $100 per gig, which is simply outrageous. Just because you can afford it, doesn’t mean most people can. I’m not sure why you keep defending this malfunctioning system that only benefits a few.
And what good is that speed with a limit of 60 GB? with 70mbps your 60GB would last exactly 2 hours.
Congratulations, you just bought 2 hours of good internet for 150$.
lol that’s true.. I was in Armenia for 2 years, I used to have unlimited wifi, 34 Mbps only for 15$… Internet in Lebanon sucks big time
Quit affordable?? You must be working with Ogero! What a ridiculous claim!!
I pay $135 in qatar and get a speed of around 130 M/s and 1000GB per month. And that is expensive!
Sorry Lebanon is a corrupt down to its bones… you see the corruption in its roads and internet and all its infrastructure.
Omar you surely do live in a bubble! 150% for 70 Mbps and limited to 60 GB ? that’s a total rip off! i’m paying 50 euros for 50 Mbps download and 8 Mbps upload and i have no limit!! and my country (Cyprus) is considered really expensive on internet!
They are just ripping you off,like they do on every single thing in Lebanon!
Hello Omar, I will be working remotely from Lebanon and dialing into my offices here in the US for 3 weeks beginning in June 2018. Which company did you secure you internet with can I ask? I need to get this setup as I am thinking the speed offered at my hotel will not suffice. Awaiting your response. Margot
^Omar Chatah ,70Mps / 60 Gb for $160 is that considered affordable ?if you have an apple tv ,gaming on ps4 , stream and download movies/games , how much would you pay for an unlimited package ?
I wish they offer a package like tmobile offers in the States , 70$ unlimited LTE , unlimited internal calls , unlimited sms …
Just make it unlimited LTE and it’s ok
I am paying more than 300$ on a 4g bundle by alfa and exeed the monthly consumption by double !
SHAME…
Internet distribution is a true challenge for ISPs when the government chooses to compete head to head with the private sector. That’s absurd, the government should be an enabler.
Just move to Dubai if you are in the tech industry. Unfortunately, you’ll still be writing articles about this topic years to come. I’ve been reading them since 2004 (11 years now).
Bull shit ministry of telecomunication. I live in France I have unlimited data with 1000 Mégabits/s down and 200 Mégabits up fibre optic with TV included at 27 euros per month = 45 000 LL. Siyesiyeh afshal men hayk mafi. Mish shatrin gheir y7otto 3ossi bil dwalib. Kell waz7ad byejeh bi wa2ef mashrou3 li2ablo bass li2anno mish men siyeseto. W balad bado yemshi.
Thats a really good point Abdo. Bassil first announced fiber plans in 2009, and so has every subsequent minister, but what happened? Today DSL in Lebanon is just as slow in terms of global standards as it was 10 years ago. I think what is happening in telecom underscores a bigger issue which is how planning happens in ministries. The average lifespan of a Lebanese minister is about 1 year. Does this cause a rush for short term projects they can claim credit for while in office?
Couldnt of said that better myself
I would like to move back to Lebanon, but this is one of the many reasons that I hesitate to do so.
What a shame on the Ministry of Telecommunications and those responsible.
Ever since i arrived to Lebanon i havent been able to play one online game decently with my friends all around the world. Either the government decides to take out my electricity or my ISP is providing me with TERRIBLE internet leading to the loss of connection to the host almost every game. Honestly its embarrassing, my friend from Netherlands the other day asked me if “Al Qaeda” was my ISP. Or everytime I live stream over night with a couple friends and have a decent ammount of viewers, then suddenly it shows that i timed out, making me look bad just because my country (Lebanon) cannot provide me with electricity 24/7 or at least a decent internet connection. I hope we get over this issue soon.
You have just tapped into the major inquiry for gamers in Lebanon. And while most people don’t actually know this, I would like to clarify that Lebanon is very good in the gaming department, as shown by our DOTA 2, CS : GO and League Of Legends very active scenes. Even some of us, are actually competing in the Leaderboards of those games in the regions that we can safely play on (mainly Europe West) of which a professional player for the Lebanese team E-Lab “GH” is in the top 10 players in DOTA 2 on EU West. I once sat down with the man, had a chat, and found out, quite quickly in fact, that the main problem for Lebanese gamers is the high ping. He told me, that when he goes with his all-lebanese team abroad for competitions, he can see himself move and execute faster, and that is all because of the ping, as to while in Lebanon, he expressed that is hard to find nice Gaming Lounges that offer a ping of under a playable 100ms to EU West.
One thing that gamers will be glad to have in Lebanon, is the ping reduction. Most of us don’t actually care about the speed, electricity blackouts, and even our “ever-so-happening unexplained loss of Internet”. We, as traditional Lebanese folk, have adapted: speed has been a thing of the past, blackouts don’t matter anymore since we route our routers through an uninterrupted power supply, and we have grown accustomed to the Internet being generally glitchy. However, it is quite a funny scene when you join a game with friend abroad and they ask if our ISP is “Al Qaeda”. Quite a common reply nowadays is : ” No! Al Qaeda would have better ping…”
Even in Romania, the internet speed is much higher than in Lebanon. Nearly all over Europe you can have a speed up to more hundred mb/s. In my house in Austria, I have 250mb/s down and 50mb/s upstream, in my house in Romania a little slower but nearly the same. In Austria UPC offers me beside the unlimited Internet also 140 TV channels and the landline for free. It costs me 55 Euro per month which is about 60 USD, in Romania only the unlimited Internet 12 Euro per month.
Most Lebanese citizens are suffering from this bad and super slow internet. Especially gamers, that no one in this country take into consideration. If I want to get a DLC pack (that is like 7GB), it would last over 3 or 4 days being downloaded. And other than just for gamers, the Internet in Lebanon should be fixed, the responsibles must find a solution.
I actually play gta online on a 0.2mbps download with no problems at all.. lol
It’s about upload speed. If you test it at a gaming lounge they only have about 1 mbs down, and 15 up
Ok A random citizen, this is where i have to step in. So you’re telling me that with the average download speed in lebanon (something like 2mbps idk) it would take 3 or 4 days to download? Honestly I downloaded Crysis 1 (11-16 gb) in nearly 16 hours or something like that, I also download Warframe (20-23gb) in 1-2 days. And no, my download speed isnt that super fast 200gbps internet, i literally have a 0.4mbps download speed and it averages at about 0.2-0.35kbps
Maba3rif leh l3alam ba3da bte7ke 3an hal dawle, talama fi Militia bi Lebnen lbalad 7aydal Zbele.
Also it’s lovely to see someone that still cares about this Country. But the only way this country will achieve something is by a Civil war it’s obvious but no one dares to say it because too much blood is already shed.
I hate seeing this Country shocking on it’s own shit because no one has the balls to stand up and fight for what you believe in.
I do live in Lebanon and I hate this hell hole but i’ill always be Lebanese a citizen till the day I die and no one can take that from me.
great article
to the likes of several hundreds of megabits per second (Mbit/s) whhaaat event that is slow at my home 8 have 945 mbit/s
This is mad. Nearly every other country is probably 50 years more advanced than Lebanon, even though Lebanon was one of the first Arabic countries to get internet. Lebanon has some catching up to do.
dont waste your time debating here, if we need so much time to download and read with these crappy Lebanese speeds. The internet in Lebanon is the epitome of greed, thuggery, incompetence, inefficiency, and corruption. It is no different to water, electricity, parliament, presidents, parties. Technical and administrative explanations are all very nice, and thanks for educating us. Until we find something that will make the people rise and fight our corrupt political system, like garbage almost did, you will get nowhere. Boutros Harb or not.
Everything would be better if we remained under the french rule…. The govement would actually quite care about the woes its people are suffering from….
Privatization is the solutiin
Yeah i would say one thing about lebanon i currently live in it its trash from every direction Internet, Food, Water, Electricity and even electronics Stores here try to rip u off like its their daily job a samsung essential 24 inch curved here costs 350$! and in dubai (when i traveled there) it was 150$ good thing i didint buy it but even the internet is straight off a scheme every lebanese man or woman just think about whatsapp thats why omar said that 60gb 150mb/s is something huge although its trash compared to dubai they are just living in a huge bubble and dont know how their leaders (governers) are miss treating them
Comments are closed.