Do you remember back in March how the guys at Cedarcom pretended to be fighting for a faster internet in Lebanon and gathered more than 40,000 fans around them?
The same guys are now working hard to take us back to state zero by suing the Ministry of Telecommunications for launching 3G! And it might be just a coincidence that the new service can go much faster than their Mobi, which they themselves have admitted it cannot go beyond 1Mbps, at a cheaper price. You can read more about the issue in The Daily Star and Al-Mustaqbal.
Now can someone tell me what were the real goals of their campaign for a faster internet?
What amazing morning news… Saba7o!
We are way behind technology wise. This is bullshit!!! It’s about time we embrace what is a given in most countries
Hello Rami,
Thank you for your post on the topic of Internet in Lebanon and for continuing to discuss and share your thoughts and interests on the topic as it advances.
Cedarcom is with 3G and other advanced broadband wireless technologies (such as 4G), as this is crucial for the economy, innovations, and consumer satisfaction. Our plans and efforts are towards positioning Lebanon in the top 10 Internet-enabled countries of the world, not the 110+ that we are unfortunately ranked as now (http://cedarcomnews.mobi/2011/08/first-step-on-a-10-mile-journey/)
The Telecom Ministry is launching an unlicensed 3G network that could lead to the nationalization of Lebanon’s Internet and Data sectors thus creating a monopoly and limiting competition. It means one provider dictating price, quality, services, etc…
Consumers should have a variety of options provided by multiple mobile operators, DSPs, and ISPs from which to choose. Choice gives the consumer value added services, alternative data plans, package variety, quality of service and most importantly, competitive prices. Otherwise, this removes the consumer’s basic right of choice. We believe that only through “fair competition” can we safeguard the consumer’s right to choose the best service at the best price. (http://cedarcomnews.mobi/2011/08/fair-competition-key-to-internet-success/)
Thank you again Rami for regularly discussing the telecom sector on your blog.
Cedarcom News
http://cedarcomnews.mobi
Rami – they are trying to stop 3G because the ministry held their equipment for no reason at the airport without signing off on them. They limited competition trying to get 3G out with maximum media attention, keeping fast internet in the hands of the state. The ministry used to sell E1 lines at 3,000% profit!
Cedarcom – People don’t give a shit about who gets them fast internet as long as they get it, and if you stand in the way of that, whether it was done fairly or unfairly, you will come off as the bad guys. Besides, you are creating a campaign holding the “We want competition” flag while you baselessly sue and lobby against new entrants in the market such as Waves (a company that to this date has not seen the light of day) who have much better technology than you, afraid of competition. Stop bullshitting people or yourselves.
@Cedarcom News
The same is happening with the ADSL packages. Why do you seem solely concerned about 3G and ready to proceed with suing the government while ignoring the fact that the government also sets the prices for ADSL packages and regulates the competition between ISPs?
Answer is simple, because 3G is a major threat to your Mobi especially when people start using USB dongles.
And as Mark said, can you please explain how are you calling for fair competition and still sue Waves in fear of taking some of your market share? You could have competed fairly with them by offering better packages, since that’s what you guys are saying is the solution for a better telecom sector here in the country!
@Mark
Thanks for bringing up the topic about Waves! I know the whole story since I used to work for one of Waves’ sister companies.
You’re welcome Rami. To add a little bit more of information, Waves was a $30+ million investment on our part. Our equipment are still at the airport with the ministry refusing to sign off on them.
What Cedarcom did was team up with the rest of the Lebanese sector, and lobbied the government not to allow us to operate, then sued us in the most ridiculous lawsuit of all time, which we ended up getting a Shura Council ruling on, still to no avail.
But the ministry is not the point here, what is the point and what gets on my nerves is the fact that Cedarcom is a two faced company trying to promote competition where it finds fit, and fights competition where it doesn’t.
It is a political issue and Imad Torbey (Cedercom CEO) is backed by the guys of 14 March and Marwan hamade specifically since his Son Karim was promised long time ago to have a part of the 3G business in lebanon! Honestly i don’t care about politics and all the Bull shit around it. All i care about is to have a reliable decent internet service in lebanon that will help me and many others to improve our business and contribute in helping lebanon’s economy getting our from Dust! I hope we all support the concept of having a decent internet service, competitive prices, high speed with a minimal down time regardless who does and signs this achievement! I strongly doubt that Cedercom really cares about providing us a decent internet connection, all they care about is have all the power on the internet sector in Lebanon since it has been since years like this were they benefited from unfair profits due to some legislation backed by political affiliation! How can Cedercom talks about Fair competition while they used to control the internet sector alone with the cooperation of Cybeira (Owned by hariris) ?