Sehnaoui Promises Return of Internet Services Friday
Ogero Telecom General Director Abdul Monem Youssef revealed on Friday that the internet services breakdown will last for not less than a week, while Telecommunications Minister Nicolas Sehnaoui promised that it will return to normal as of today.
“Ogero is working on finding an alternative to provide the citizens with internet service across the country until the malfunction is fixed,” Youssef told al-Liwaa newspaper.
The breakdown in internet services breakdown in Lebanon is due to a malfunctioning IMEWE cable in Alexandria in Egypt.
IMEWE (India-Middle East-Western Europe) is an ultra-high capacity fiber optic submarine cable system which links India and Europe via Middle East.
“The internet services will return to normal as of Friday, while repairing the IMEWE cable might require a week” Sahnaoui told LBC television.
He later contacted President Michel Suleiman informing him that the internet services in Lebanon have been restored.
Youssef lashed out at the Telecommunications Ministry, stressing that Ogero is the only side that is exerting efforts to provide internet, denying that the ministry is playing a role in resolving the crisis.
He reiterated that Ogero isn’t accountable for the malfunction, pointing out that the Telecom Ministry is directly responsible for all the issues linked to the IMEWE submarine cable.
Therefore, Youssef said that it was the ministry’s responsibility to inform the Lebanese about the malfunction that hit the cable.
Lebanon has been witnessing from the beginning of the week slow internet service, bringing it into a complete halt for several hours.
Telecommunications Minister Nicolas Sehnaoui said on Thursday that the ministry is working on transferring the internet services to the cable in Cyprus without the need to pay any additional cost.
Asked if Ogero and the Telecom Ministry are cooperating among each other, Youssef said that Ogero is working day and night to provide the country with all the necessary services, while all that others do is accuse it of negligence.
The Telecoms Ministry agreed in February with Cypriot authorities to establish a new submarine cable, which will act as a backup, preventing a complete breakdown in Lebanon’s internet service if the IMEWE cable is affected by a malfunction.
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