Cabinet formed a committee on Thursday to examine the future of Lebanon’s mobile network sector – namely its two main operators, Alfa and MTC – in coordination with the newly reactivated Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA).  The move follows a request submitted in September by the Telecommunications Ministry for government approval to be reauthorized to take the necessary administrative and legal steps to launch an international tender for the management and operation of the two networks.  The Lebanese mobile network, divided between two joint-stock companies — MIC 1 (Alfa) and MIC 2 (Touch) — has been under public management since September and October 2020, respectively, under the supervision of the ministry. Previously, the two networks were operated by the Egyptian company Orascom (since 2009) and the Kuwaiti company Zain (since 2004) under management contracts that expired at the height of the country’s economic crisis.  In May 2020, Cabinet had tasked the Telecommunications Ministry with preparing a new bid book and setting the subscription and qualification terms for an international tender to manage and operate the cellular networks. The decision also required the ministry to launch the tender within three months – something the ministry failed to do to date.  "There’s been no reform, no change, and no progress for five years. Both network companies have failed to keep up with the pace of technological advancement globally," an informed source told L’Orient-Le Jour on condition of anonymity. "With everything moving forward elsewhere, we’ve had no training, no 5G, nothing. We’re falling behind and urgently need international expertise."  The committee will study the available options – including the potential privatization of the sector or the resumption of management contracts. It will be headed by Deputy Prime Minister Tarek Mitri and include the Ministers of Telecommunications Charles Hage, Technology and Artificial Intelligence, Finance, Labor, and Energy and Water Ministers, as well as “any other ministers who wish to join,” the ministerial decree stated. (ICE BEIRUT)

Fonte notizia: L'Orient Today