It’s 2020 in the country once called the Switzerland of the Middle East. Its capital Beirut was referred to as the Paris of the Middle East. Yet, there exist basic issues that could make you scratch your head.
While most of the world has a grip on decent telecommunications, Lebanon is still struggling badly. Not only are mobile services in Lebanon the most expensive around the globe, but they are also not reliable.
Presently, the cellular connection is down in some northeastern villages and towns of Lebanon. Why? Because the fuel of their generators ran out.
The cellular towers of five towns in the Hermel region are out of service because the contractor has failed to provide the stations with fuel.
They appealed to the Minister of Communications Talal Hawat to fix the issue as MTC and Alfa are under the ownership of the Lebanese government.
But the problem goes further than what the Ministry of Telecommunications is able to handle. There is a shortage of diesel in Lebanon.
A message from electricity generator provider to their customers sent on June 9, 2020.
The diesel issue not only threatens the telecommunications sector but mainly the industry of generators.
Lebanon does not have 24-hour electricity provided by the government, therefore every home relies on backup generators to make up for daily electricity cuts and blackouts.
With suspicious smuggling and the worsening dollar crisis, Lebanon is running out of basic resources which have become too expensive to import.
Accordingly, local news indicated citing government sources that a diesel transport ship arrived in Lebanon on June 9th and has begun unloading its supply, which will soon be distributed in the country.
