DSL to launch in March

Residents of Beirut should expect to see a high speed DSL service become available in March 2007, according to the director of a local internet service provider (ISP) IDM. Although details of the rollout have yet to be settled, the Telecommunications Ministry, the state-owned fixed line incumbent OGERO and a number of ISPs are reported to have held two meetings in the past week to push forward the oft-postponed DSL launch. The ministry has floated an initial proposal for DSL user fees, according to which DSL set-up costs would be LBP55,000 (USD37), while a 128kbps service would cost LBP35,000 per month for home users and LBP45,000 for businesses; a 256kbps connections would cost LBP50,000 (LBP65,000) and 512kbps LBP70,000 (LBP85,000). Monthly downloads would be capped.