The telecommunications sector is facing several issues, just like most sectors in the country. With the strike by "Ogero" employees, we witnessed a complete shutdown of the internet and telephone lines, which paralyzed the work of the Lebanese. Things returned to normal with the temporary suspension of the strike. So, what’s new in this matter? What are the reasons behind the outages? Will prices rise again?
Imad Kreidyyeh, the Director General of "Ogero," assures that there will be no return to the strike and that things are positive. Regarding the frequent outages in communications and the internet, he states in an interview with MTV: "The outages are not in the network but are a result of unstable electricity supply. The Minister of Telecommunications in the caretaker government, Johnny Al-Qarm, spoke about the biggest risks, which is that the generator groups are overworked because they operate continuously, leading to mechanical failures that cause the generators to stop working, which in turn causes electricity cuts to the equipment." He adds, "There are also regular outages that are addressed immediately."
Will we witness a new increase in telecommunications prices? Kreidyyeh answers: "The tariff decree was approved and came into effect in July, so there is currently no reason to raise prices." And what about the future of the sector? Kreidyyeh says: "I cannot predict anything about the future as there are many problems due to the overall economic situation in the country; we are living day by day, and we have lost the ability to plan and program our affairs due to the existing financial deficit."
