Internet prices are finally going down by the end of next month after the cabinet approved the new price list yesterday!
The good news for consumers: Today a 1 Mbps connection, the second-fastest available, costs 115,000 LL ($76.67) per month. Under the new regime, 1 Mbps will be the slowest connection sold by Ogero, the state-run telecom company, and will cost 24,000 LL ($16) per month. (Both price figures exclude the 10% value added tax.)
Packages will range from 1 Mbps with a 4 GB download and upload cap (it’s not split; you get 4GB for each) to around 8 Mpbs with a 30 GB cap. Imad Tarabay, CEO of the Internet provider Cedarcom, told NOW Lebanon that as soon as the new packages are implemented, customers with packages below 1 Mbps now will automatically receive the lowest-level new package from their providers (assuming Ogero releases bandwidth to the private sector). Customers can then decide if they want to switch packages or not.
We’re still way behind what people get in nearby countries but it’s still a good step forward, I just hope there will be enough capacity to accommodate the demand when everyone is automatically switched to 1Mbps next month, and I wish they would reconsider amending those bandwidth cap because one would consume them so fast with the speeds they’re promising.
