Beirut Airport Adds Free internet Wi-Fi!

June 16, 2010 · Filed under Made in Lebanon, Technology · Tagged Beirut International Airport, Electronic Signatures and Services Authority, ESSA, Expatriate, Free Wifi, Gabriel Deek, Gogo Inflight, I Have a Dream, Lebanon, MEA, Middle East Airlines, Ogero, PCA, StopThisLaw

The Minister of Telecommunications Eng. Charbel Nahhas announced yesterday that he worked very closely with the Beirut International Airport to provide free Wi-Fi as a holiday gift now through September 15, 2010.

Additionally, as a result of this project, the airport will begin offering airport-wide free Wi-Fi indefinitely, starting next year 🙂

In the process of regulating the internet, and fostering freedom of expression in Lebanon, the Ministry Of Telecommunications in Lebanon added free on top of paid Wi-Fi: The authority decided to put out $90K for equipment and foot a $41K per year bill for service with 15 Mbps backhaul to handle what they believe will be 1,000 daily users.
Several companies are working with the airport on providing advertising.

“Because we care about our families abroad, we are very happy to extend our Wi-Fi Holiday gift to the millions of people who will spend time in airports over the next few months,” said Eng. Charbel Nahhas

“Telecommunications should not be a revenue stream for the government. We know that this is a very hectic travel season for Lebanese expatriates, and we hope that free Wi-Fi will make both traveling and connecting with friends and family a little bit easier.”

“Free and open access to the Internet has been a key passenger service initiative since the beginning of this year. The involvement of sponsors such as ESSA (Electronic Signatures and Services Authority) helps to ensure we can continue to keep Wi-Fi free.”

Just bring a WiFi-enabled laptop or mobile device and stay connected to family and friends for free while you travel!

In-flight Wi-Fi Access

The good news are not over!

Thanks to the ministry’s support, Middle East Airlines has become the next big airline to bring the Gogo Inflight Internet service to most of its planes. Starting this month, the service will be available on all MEA planes, and for the summer season, access will be free of charge!
(Voice service is not supported yet though)

According to the MEA website:

Now you can tweet from your seat, get work done, or have some fun! In-flight Internet access is available across our fleet on more than 1,800 flights daily through our relationship with Gogo® In-flight Internet Access.

Once the aircraft reaches 10,000 feet and the crew gives the okay to turn on portable electronic devices, simply connect to the “gogoinflight” signal, sign up and log in. Gogo gives you the freedom to live life uninterrupted, connecting you to the things in your life that matter most.

Who said Lebanon is stuck in the 50s ??

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Back to reality:

This spoofy post aims to highlight the vision & technology advancements in other countries, and compare them to the sad situation in Lebanon conveyed in the inline links, namely the VoIP ban, and the recent E-Transactions Law.

Some thought it was a “damn-I-was-excited not-funny mediocre hoax,”
others found it “funny” & “smart” and even
“the favorite post among those talking about the e-transactions law”

What do you think?