Lebanon’s 5G leap

Lebanon is preparing to enter a new phase in its digital transformation with the rollout of fifth-generation (5G) mobile technology. Within days, the Ministry of Telecommunications will begin installing the country’s first batch of 5G transmission stations as part of a three-year national project aimed at modernizing telecommunications infrastructure and improving internet connectivity. While the initiative represents a significant technological milestone, experts stress that its success will ultimately depend on the country’s ability to strengthen its underlying digital infrastructure, particularly fiber-optic connectivity and reliable electricity.

In an interview with The Beiruter, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, and digital transformation expert Roland Abi Najem assessed Lebanon’s readiness for 5G, its expected economic and technological impact, and the challenges that still stand in the way of a truly digital economy.

Economic opportunities beyond faster internet

Abi Najem believed the true value of 5G extends well beyond improved download speeds.

He described modern telecommunications infrastructure as “the backbone” of any competitive economy, arguing that reliable high-speed internet has become one of the minimum requirements for attracting international business.

Lebanon possesses a highly educated workforce, particularly in information technology, engineering, finance, and consulting. However, weak digital infrastructure has limited the country’s ability to position itself as a regional outsourcing and technology hub.

With stable high-speed connectivity, international consulting firms, multinational corporations, and Gulf-based companies, Abi Najem stated, could increasingly employ Lebanese professionals remotely while reducing operating costs.

“Lebanon has tremendous human talent. What companies need is a minimum level of infrastructure; reliable electricity and fast internet.”

Improved connectivity, Abi Najem added, could also stimulate entrepreneurship, encourage investment in digital startups, strengthen Lebanon's technology sector, and diversify revenues within the telecommunications industry.

Enabling smart cities and digital transformation

The benefits extend well beyond the private sector. According to Abi Najem, advanced digital infrastructure forms the basis for smart cities, intelligent transportation systems, digital government services, connected security cameras, and Internet of Things applications.

These technologies rely on continuous, high-capacity, low-latency communications that previous mobile generations cannot always provide efficiently.

For ordinary citizens, he asserted, 5G promises smoother video conferencing, improved streaming quality, faster cloud services, better online education, enhanced remote work capabilities, and more reliable digital communication.

In healthcare, Abi Najem added that 5G can support remote patient monitoring and connected medical devices. In transportation, it enables intelligent traffic management and future autonomous mobility solutions. Across industries, it facilitates automation, data analytics, and artificial intelligence applications that depend on real-time information exchange.

Building the infrastructure first

Despite the excitement surrounding 5G, Abi Najem highlighted that Lebanon is not upgrading an existing 5G infrastructure, but rather building one almost from scratch.

He explained that deploying 5G requires two essential pillars: advanced wireless connectivity and an extensive fiber-optic backbone capable of carrying significantly larger volumes of data. While work has begun on developing this infrastructure, Lebanon still has considerable ground to cover.

“The 5G infrastructure is currently being built. Its success depends on both wireless coverage and fiber connectivity.”

Fiber-optic deployment has long faced delays in Lebanon, with only limited areas currently enjoying reliable fiber access. At the same time, mobile networks operated by Alfa and Touch have suffered from years of insufficient maintenance and investment, leaving much of the existing infrastructure outdated. As a result, the current project is not simply an upgrade but rather the construction of a modern telecommunications network designed to support future digital services.

Abi Najem also expected the rollout to occur in carefully planned stages rather than nationwide all at once. Given population density and commercial activity, Greater Beirut is widely expected to receive priority coverage before expansion to other regions.

Electricity remains the biggest challenge

Beyond telecommunications infrastructure, Abi Najem identified Lebanon’s chronic electricity crisis as perhaps the greatest obstacle to achieving an efficient 5G network.

Reliable mobile communications, fiber networks, artificial intelligence applications, cloud computing, and data centers all require continuous and stable electricity. Yet many internet facilities in Lebanon currently rely on generators and diesel fuel simply to remain operational.

“In my opinion, before discussing advanced internet technologies, we should first guarantee stable internet availability 24 hours a day,” he said. “That is something considered normal in most countries.”

Without dependable electricity, even the most advanced telecommunications equipment cannot consistently deliver the performance expected from 5G technology.

A national rollout begins

The project’s first phase includes the installation of 150 transmission stations, evenly distributed between Lebanon’s two mobile operators, Alfa and Touch. According to a source at the Ministry of Telecommunications, the first shipment of 50 stations has already arrived and is ready for installation, while the remaining equipment will be delivered in subsequent batches.

Technical teams are expected to begin installing the first 15 stations at the start of next week, prioritizing areas experiencing the highest network congestion. The remaining stations will be deployed gradually as additional equipment arrives.

The project carries an estimated implementation cost of approximately $1 million, covering installation, software licensing to activate 5G capabilities on existing equipment, and upgrades to parts of the national telecommunications network. The transmission stations themselves were secured through an international donation.

Initially, between 20% and 25% of subscribers are expected to benefit from the first 150 stations. As future deployment phases continue, coverage could eventually reach nearly 70% of Lebanon’s population.

What makes 5G different?

Compared to previous mobile generations, 5G represents a fundamental shift in network capabilities.

While 4G networks theoretically offer maximum speeds of around 1 Gbps, 5G can theoretically reach speeds of up to 20 Gbps while dramatically reducing latency; the delay between sending and receiving data.

Unlike earlier generations that primarily focused on connectivity, 5G is designed to support cloud computing, artificial intelligence, automation, the Internet of Things (IoT), smart cities, autonomous systems, and real-time digital services.

Its software-defined architecture allows networks to dynamically allocate resources depending on demand, while technologies such as Massive Multiple Input Multiple Output (Massive MIMO) significantly increase network capacity by enabling multiple simultaneous data transmissions.

These improvements make 5G not merely a faster internet service but the digital foundation for next-generation economies.

In Lebanon, if the aforementioned complementary reforms continue alongside the phased deployment of the new network, Lebanon’s entry into the 5G era could become a foundational step toward building a more connected, innovative, and digitally resilient future.