Alfa and Touch cut 4.5G Internet tariffs

Alfa and Touch, local mobile network operators, have decided to cut 4.5G Internet tariffs.

In a statement, Touch, a unit of Kuwait-based Zain Group, said: “The new tariff plans, which include marked pricing reductions up to 40 percent, require approval from the Ministry of Telecommunications (MoT), which is expected to happen shortly.”

The new tariffs will be effective in October 2016 after obtaining the (MoT) approval.

The price reductions offered by Alfa range between 10 and 20 percent, depending on the package. The company’s Chairman Marwan Hayek said that subscribers at Alfa’s 1.5 gigabyte (GB) package will benefit from prices that are lower than the regional average, especially in comparison to countries like Saudi Arabia and the United Arab emirates (UAE).

Subscribers of packages ranging between 5 GB and 10 GB and whose consumption is moderate will benefit from low prices similar to those found in Jordan and Qatar. Those with high consumption will be granted extremely competitive prices that are lower than rates in the UAE and Qatar for example, Hayek said.

Alfa reduced the price of its 10 GB bundle to $39 from $49. Its 5 GB bundle was cut to $23 from $29 while the 60 GB, the biggest one, was slashed to $119 from $149.

Similarly, Touch also reduced its 10 GB bundle to $39 and its 60 GB to $119. The 100 GB bundle targeting corporate customers was slashed to $149.

Last year, the MoT reduced DSL fees as part of a program to gradually slash internet rates which were among the highest in the world.

In related news, state-owned telecom operator OGERO launched the DSL service in additional telephone exchanges in the cazas of Bint Jbeil, Hermil, Denniyeh, and Iklim El Kharroub.