Director General of Ogero Imad Kreidieh said during a television interview that the telecom and internet sector would be struggling due to power cuts and outages.

He explained that internet services in Lebanon cannot be compared to the services in the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Cyprus, because governments in these countries allocate huge budgets for developing infrastructure.

Kreidieh added that the repercussions of Covid-19 pandemic have intensified pressure on the network. Fuel consumption required to operate the generators increased from 20,000 liters to 70,000 liters. He said that tariffs should be amended, otherwise the capacity will decline. In addition to that salaries and wages should be readjusted, he said.

He said that currently no one have the courage to raise prices. “If the Central Bank decided to lift subsidies on the telecom sector, then we will be forced to secure fresh dollars from the black market.” Kreidieh added that the Central Bank Governor promised to support the required budget for brining internet from abroad, without undertaking the cost of maintenance.”