BEIRUT: Lebanese Internet will press ahead with plans to release a game-changer Internet package in early October, despite widespread speculation that land-line provider Ogero will hold off on the release of needed bandwidth.

The Daily Star has learned that at least two major private Internet service providers will implement an Internet decree passed last month, which reduces end-user DSL prices by 80 percent and raises speeds up to eight times.

The release of the package has been scheduled for Oct. 1.

Some of the ISPs that have not given assurances of implementing the package have said they are waiting on Ogero, which controls around 80 percent of Lebanon’s Internet cables, to release international capacity, said Firas Abi Nassif, a consultant at the Telecommunications Ministry.

Ogero’s refusal to release international bandwidth, shuttled through a transcontinental cable known as IMEWE, creates major bottlenecks in the sector.

However Abi Nassif said he expects any delay in Ogero’s compliance with the law to last “only a few days.”

Ogero, long considered the wild card of the telecommunications sector, has been embroiled in heated battles with the Telecommunications Ministry over at least three different ministry tenures.

Deadlocks between the two bodies are viewed by most commentators to be politically motivated, with each controlled by opposing sides of Lebanon’s deep political divide, subsequently putting major roadblocks in plans for change in that notoriously ailing sector.

Lebanese Internet is considered one of the slowest and most expensive in the world. It’s a situation that Internet users are hoping will change drastically next month with the DSL package and the official release of the 3G service, already in its pilot stage.

Virtual ISP is a medium-sized provider that upgraded its Internet services in compliance with the decree almost immediately after the Cabinet announced its passing. It was a move, said technical manager Denys Fredoryshchenko, that was meant to push others to do the same.

But now they wait eagerly for signs of life from Ogero.

“It is not proper solution, what we are doing now, it is higher speed, but it is unstable and has high latency,” said Fredoryshchenko. “With more bandwidth our customers can have completely new experience and much better service.”

Another private ISP, Terranet, has been taking a similar route, pumping up bandwidth from its own cables networks in order to transfer the new package to consumers.

Terranet is one of two major ISPs whose compliance with the Internet decree The Daily Star can confirm. IDM is the other.

Still Terranet depends on Ogero cables for its pipe links to the network, which must be tapped into in case the network gets exhausted by heightened Internet traffic.

It will also be reaching out to only part of its customer base. Some customers – less than half – subscribe to Terranet through Ogero’s network; these will not benefit from the package.

But Terranet is optimistic that Ogero will follow through with the package. The group’s general manager Khaldoun Farhat estimates a more than 50 percent chance of Ogero’s compliance.

There are two reasons that could explain Ogero’s behavior. The first has to do with technical problems that Ogero might be experiencing. The second is political; tech community members are speculating that Ogero has just been looking for a way to sabotage success achieved by the ministry.

Abi Nassif said he suspects technical problems were unlikely, given Ogero’s large workforce. He also ruled out suspicions that Ogero lacked the infrastructure to supply the new bandwidth.

He also downplayed political misbehavior, saying he was confident Ogero would not resort to violating the law.

The Daily Star could not be reach Ogero for comment.

Telecommunications Minister Nicolas Sehnaoui has hailed the new Internet package as a major leap forward for Lebanon.