Beirut: Telecommunications Minister Charles Hajj told Hiwarat Al-Serail on Tele Liban that Lebanon was pursuing structural reform while maintaining essential services after five years of financial crisis, pandemic disruption and war left the sector underinvested and its networks near the end of their operational life.
According to National News Agency - Lebanon, Hajj said the government had begun implementing Law 431, more than 22 years after its adoption, through the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority, ministry restructuring, and the planned establishment of Liban Telecom. He assured Ogero and ministry employees that transfers to the new company would preserve and improve their rights and salaries.
The ministry saved enough through tighter spending at Alfa and Touch to invest more than $50 million in networks in 2025 and increase Treasury transfers by about $25 million. A first-phase fiber-optic expansion will cover around 350,000 homes, with a target of raising broadband subscriptions from 50,000 to 500,000 within three years.
Hajj said Lebanon was also considering tenders to modernize about 3,000 mobile sites and expand 4G and 5G, while opening fiber and fixed-wireless services to private investment under regulatory oversight.
He described Starlink as a complementary, initially business-focused backup service, not a substitute for fiber or mobile networks. He also highlighted planned regional links with Iraq and Syria, new submarine cables, data protection, cybersecurity, and Lebanon's ambition to become a digital-services hub between East and West.