Tag Archives | sodetel

So Did Your DSL Speed Improve?

It’s been three days now since the new plans recently announced by Ogero became effective, and with them came the “open speed” packages which allow subscriber to benefit from the maximum speed their phone lines can handle.

All other ISPs have updated their existing plans well, and the most flexible ones are offered by IDM and Cyberia. Others like Sodetel and Wise have less options, but no matter what provider you are subscribed too you can get a decent plan for ~$20.

I  have tested the speed upgrades at a friend in Achrafieh who is now getting ~3.5Mbps instead of the 2Mbps he was originally subcribed too, and at my parents in Kaskas area who are now getting ~6Mbps (The latter spoiled my kid by the way because YouTube videos were loading pretty fast on is iPad! 😛 ). On the other hand, people who live relatively far from the exchange offices will be limited to 1 or 2Mbps.

I personally was quite excited when the plans were originally announced in May, but unfortunately shortly after that I started experiencing disconnection with my home connection that lasted several hours everyday, and extremely low speeds whenever I get lucky and my modem connects. So I followed up with IDM (my ISP) and Ogero to troubleshoot the problem for over a couple of months until I was recently informed by Ogero that the problem is due to a defected cable in my area which cannot be replaced anytime soon, and that I have to deal with my current connection until further notice.

This is quite frustrating to be honest since the monthly subscription we pay for our landlines is at minimum supposed to cover the technical failure that might occur on the network, and that should of course include main cables feeding a whole area…!

Anyway, until a miracle restores my connection, I am currently considering switching to a wireless solution such as Connect which recently updated their plans with higher data caps.

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Lebanon getting free WiFi in public parks

I know it’s hard to belive, but the news is true! The ministry of telecommunications is teaming up with the Association of Banks and Sodetel to bring free WiFi to 11 public parks in Lebanon (mainly in Beirut) during working hours.

  1. Herch Beyrouth on a surface of 30.000 m2, knowing that its total area is 330,0000m2
  2. Sanayeh- René Mouawad (22,000 m2)
  3. Sioufi (20,000 m2)
  4. Ramleh Bayda  (10,000 m2)
  5. Manchiyeh- Tripoli (10,000 m2)
  6. Bourj Abi Haidar (7,000 m2)
  7. Talet el Khayat – Moufti Hassan Khaled (5,000 m2)
  8. Abou Chahla (5,000 m2)
  9. Yassouhiyé (4,400 m2)
  10. Saint Nicolas (2,200 m2)
  11. Basta Tahta (2,200 m2)

Sioufi will be the first park to have the free WiFi starting today when ministers Nahas and Sehnaoui launch the service.

It’s a great initiative indeed. But given the current internet speed in Lebanon, I highly doubt the service will be really usable by the people. I mean we’re barely able to make use of the internet at home, let alone a shared public bandwidth!

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