3G telecom expected in September

Alfa hosts meeting for Executives and CEOs from around the world

June 24, 2011- Alfa, the local mobile operator managed by Orascom Telecom, invited top Lebanese telecom executives and CEOs from worldwide to discuss the importance and expected advantages of the third generation of mobile technology (3.5G).

The event, held on June 17, 2011 at Le Gray Hotel, Beirut, comes in line with the final preparations by Alfa, before the actual launch of the 3.5G technology in September.

The executives agreed that the 3.5G technology is a milestone for the country and a ground-breaking project bound to fuel economic growth, facilitate business for small and medium enterprises (SMEs), and create numerous job opportunities.

“Lebanon will certainly regain its pioneering role on the regional telecommunications map, after the introduction of the third generation of mobile technology (3.5G),” Alfa Chairman and CEO, Marwan Hayek said.
He said the 3.5 technology “will have a huge positive impact on our Gross Domestic Product (GDP), attracting new investments, boosting the national economy and spurring economic growth.”

The implementation of the 3G service is expected to increase by 70 times the speed of current mobile Internet services. The upgraded network will have the capacity to provide high-speed mobile Internet to up to 850,000 subscribers to the network, and medium-level speed to 1.5 million subscribers.

The overall investment costs total $80 million to upgrade the MIC1 (Mobile Interim Company 1) network operated by Alfa and the MIC2 network operated by MTC Touch.

3G or third generation mobile technology is a set of standards for mobile phones and mobile telecommunication services fulfilling the International Mobile Telecommunications-2000 (IMT-2000) specifications as identified by the International Telecommunication Union. Application services include wide-area wireless voice telephone, mobile Internet access, video calls and mobile TV, all in a mobile environment.