Nearly two months after the ceasefire took effect in Lebanon, parts of Beirut’s southern suburbs remain without internet. The government’s management chaos and the lack of effective repair plans have only made matters worse.
As Ogero, the only state-owned telecommunications company, and local municipalities trade blame, people have found themselves victims of exploitation by private players capitalizing on the crisis.
When displaced residents started returning to their homes in November 2024, the scale of the issue became evident: severed lines, weak infrastructure, and no immediate solutions in sight.
In villages where people have been allowed to return, the internet has been gradually improving, with noticeable progress in DSL services. However, in Beirut’s southern suburbs, especially in areas served by the Mreijeh exchange point, the situation remains dire.
Imad Kreidieh, Director-General of Ogero, explained to SMEX that the Mreijeh exchange point sustained significant damage due to the bombardment, yet the destruction primarily affected external cables around the facility.
While Kreidieh had promised affected residents a fiber-optic network to enhance service quality, the area is still without internet.
According to Kreidieh, Ogero is “waiting for the Municipal Union of the Southern Suburbs to complete the repair of the local infrastructure.” Kreidieh explained how after this first step, Ogero can begin restoring service, a process that would take about 45 days.
Exploitation rises with no solutions in sight
Faced with exploitation, people are resorting to illegal alternatives as a way to secure connection. Unauthorized internet service providers have been quick to take advantage of the crisis by spreading “neighborhood cables,” monopolizing services.
Approximately 10,000 residents in the affected areas are trying to cope while waiting for the government to take action. Meanwhile, they’re dealing with a crisis of their own: skyrocketing service fees and declining quality.
Kreidieh clarified that Ogero has not changed its pricing policies or increased its rates. However, unauthorized internet service providers claimed that rising prices are due to hikes from the main service distributor (DPL).
To justify deteriorating internet quality, government-sponsored and independent providers blame the war and bombardment for subpar services. Meanwhile, residents of the southern suburbs, desperate for internet access, are left paying higher fees, including for costly measures like replacing cables, routers, or other expensive upgrades supposedly meant to “improve service.”
Kreidieh emphasized that citizens have the right to file complaints against these providers, which could lead to further action.
Hassan, resident of the Kafa’at area in Beirut’s southern suburb, shared his experience with unauthorized internet service providers. The providers were quick to lay cables and collect subscription fees but charged higher prices for lower-quality service.
So far, Hassan is still struggling to secure a reliable internet connection. Every time he contacts the technical team, they cite issues like “worn-out cables” or “old routers” and suggest costly alternatives like paid repairs or upgrading packages to improve service quality.
Authorized distributors completely desensitized to the crisis
The performance of authorized internet distributors hasn’t been much better. During the war, IDM resumed its operations as usual, even going as far as sending automated reminders to subscribers to pay their bills.
IDM explained that “these messages are sent out automatically.” Despite lack of judgement by the company, this “oversight” persisted until the end of the war. When residents returned, they were shocked to find their accounts suspended due to overdue payments.
In the “Hay Madi” neighborhood, which falls under the Chiyah exchange point, resident Mohammad’s internet account was also abruptly suspended. The company attempted to automatically charge him a fee to restore it, but he managed to block the payment by filing a phone complaint.
For Nour, who resides in the Jamous area, covered by the Mreijeh exchange point, “the automated messages during the war were extremely annoying, but what was truly frustrating was the company demanding LBP 150,000 to reactivate an account [in an area with no coverage at all].”
After filing a complaint, the company withdrew its demand and reactivated her account. But this raises serious questions: How many users were forced to pay this fee to restore their accounts? How many sums of LBP 150,000 collected by the company to reactivate accounts shut down due to the war?
After Nour paid the fee and her account was reactivated the service was still cut off.
She contacted the company again and filed another complaint, only to be told they would refund her monthly fee once service resumed.
This also begs the question: Why didn’t the company devise a plan to address the war’s aftermath? Why were citizens left to navigate these challenges alone? How many monthly subscriptions were automatically charged without compensating account owners? And how much revenue did these chaotic practices generate for those profiting from the crisis?
In normal cases, the company should have frozen inactive accounts within affected areas during the war or automatically waived fees and bureaucratic procedures for users. Alternatively, it could have informed users through text messages about how it planned to handle the crisis.
Instead, the company chose to exploit the situation, collecting fees from those who either remained silent or lacked the knowledge to challenge them.
This approach stands in stark contrast to the decision issued by the Minister of Telecommunications, instructing Ogero to suspend the issuance of monthly bills and halt the collection of fees and subscriptions for subscribers in areas covered by damaged exchange points.
On IDM’s Facebook page, one frustrated user commented: “Are you living on the same planet as us? If no one’s home, why are we being asked to renew the subscription? And even if we renew, there’s no internet because the Amrousieh exchange point is shut down.”
This comment is just one of hundreds expressing frustration over poor service. What’s most alarming, however, is the failure to properly manage the internet sector after the war, leaving citizens to deal with constant obstacles and unjustified charges at a time when they’re already under immense stress.
Repeated attempts to contact IDM for clarification went unanswered.
Ogero and Municipalities: Trading Blame and Delaying Solutions
A glaring lack of coordination between relevant authorities has also come to light. Mohammad Dergham, the President of the Municipal Union of the Southern Suburbs, told SMEX he was surprised by Ogero’s claim that it was waiting for the Union to take action.
“We as well are waiting for Ogero to provide the municipality with the necessary supplies to lay the networks.” Dergham even requested Kreidieh’s phone number to address the issue directly with him.
Although Dergham’s surprise at Kreidieh’s remarks is concerning in itself, what’s even more shocking is the lack of direct communication between the two parties.
SMEX later learned that a meeting was held to address this gap, but its outcomes still remain unclear.
Amid all this back-and-forth, residents of the southern suburbs remain at the mercy of crisis profiteers who seize every opportunity to maximize their gains by exploiting people’s preoccupation, exhaustion, and urgent need for services.
This critical phase demands the highest levels of coordination and cooperation. Instead, what we’re witnessing is complete disarray and poor crisis management.
It has been two months since people returned to their homes, five months since the war began, and even longer since the state announced its emergency plan for the loming crisis. And yet, the situation remains at a standstill.
Image from AFP
