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The
announcement was made late Thursday by Information Minister Paul
Morcos who said Starlink will provide internet services
throughout Lebanon via satellites operated by Musk’s SpaceX.
The announcement came nearly three months after Musk spoke with
Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun by telephone and told him about
his interest in working in the country’s telecommunications and
internet sectors.
During the same Cabinet meeting, the government named regulatory
authorities for the country’s electricity and telecommunications
sectors.
Naming a regulatory authority for Lebanon’s corruption-plagued
electricity sector has been a key demand by international
organizations.
The naming of a regulatory authority for the electricity sector
was supposed to be done more than 20 years ago but there have
been repeated delays by the country’s authorities. The move is
seen as a key reform for a sector that wastes over $1 billion a
year in the small Mediterranean nation.
State-run Electricite du Liban, or EDL, is viewed as one of
Lebanon’s most wasteful institutions and plagued by political
interference. It has cost state coffers about $40 billion since
the 1975-90 civil war ended.
Since taking office earlier this year, Aoun and Prime Minister
Nawaf Salam have vowed to work on implementing reforms and
fighting corruption and decades-old mismanagement to get Lebanon
out of an economic crisis that the World Bank has described as
among the world’s worst since the 1850s.
Lebanon has for decades faced long hours of electricity cuts but
the situation became worse following an economic meltdown that
began in late 2019. The 14-month Israel-Hebzollah war that ended
in late November also badly damaged electricity and other
infrastructure in parts of Lebanon.
In April, the World Bank said it will grant Lebanon a $250
million loan that will be used to help ease electricity cuts.
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