News

Lebanon’s 5G Era Begins With 150 Stations And A $1M Budget

First lit for a papal visit, Alfa’s 5G in and around Beirut is now permanent — timed for the summer expat influx, with 70 percent of Lebanon the eventual target.

Published

2 months ago

August 5, 2026

Nour Nasir

lebanon's 5g era begins with 150 stations and a $1 million budget

Lebanon is switching on 5G, seven years after South Korea launched the world’s first nationwide commercial network. Touch and Alfa, the country’s two mobile operators, announced last week that they are expanding fifth-generation services in coordination with the Telecommunications Ministry, part of a three-year project to install 150 base stations split equally between them.

Alfa made the first move by permanently restoring the 5G stations it originally activated for Pope Leo XIV’s visit to Lebanon in late November 2025, bringing coverage to downtown Beirut, Antelias, Dekwaneh, the Beirut Port area, and the vicinity of the Presidential Palace in Baabda. The timing is deliberate: summer brings a wave of Lebanese expatriates home, and internet consumption spikes with them. Stations in Dbayeh, the airport area, Adlieh, and Jounieh come next, followed by 75 more across the country.

The Touch network is close behind, according to its chairman Karim Salam. “Today, we are moving from the preparation phase to the actual implementation phase ahead of the commercial launch of the service,” Salam stated, as the first batch of equipment arrived in Beirut.

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Touch, which selected technology from Huawei and Nokia, plans to activate 15 5G sites covering key areas of the capital before the end of August, with 60 more due between September and November in Beirut, Greater Beirut, the area around Beirut-Rafic Hariri International Airport, Batroun, Jbeil, Jounieh, Tripoli, Zahle, and several other areas outside the capital. A second phase will extend the network across the rest of the country, including the south, the area most affected by the war between Hezbollah and Israel since October 2023. Touch also intends to upgrade 75 sites to 4.5G and build 75 new rural sites before the end of 2026.

A Telecommunications Ministry source told L’Orient-Le Jour the project’s total cost is around $1 million, covering installation, license activation, and network upgrades. The first 150 stations are expected to reach 20 to 25 percent of subscribers; in later phases, the ministry says, that could rise to around 70 percent of the Lebanese population.

News

New Disney+ Streaming App Has Officially Launched In The UAE

The app’s recommendations now factor in what’s popular in the UAE, and a dedicated Junior Mode gives kids their own corner of Disney+.

Published

17 hours ago

October 9, 2026

Dana Saadeh

Disney

A new Disney+ app has officially launched in the UAE, and subscribers can now keep watching their favorite titles when they travel. Disney+ says access extends across supported markets in Europe, the United States and beyond.

The app is built around a dynamic homepage and simpler navigation, with recommendations drawn from each customer’s viewing habits and what’s popular in the UAE. Content from Hulu and ESPN is now easier to find alongside Disney+’s own library, the company says. Audio and subtitles come in up to 25 languages, and supported devices get high-quality video and sound.

For families, the app includes Junior Mode, a dedicated, simplified version of Disney+ for younger viewers, built around age-appropriate shows and movies. It sits alongside existing controls such as PIN-protected profiles, customizable content ratings and account notifications when a profile is changed.

The catalog still spans Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Star Wars, National Geographic, Hulu and FX. Returning series include Season 8 of “The Kardashians,” Season 23 of “Grey’s Anatomy” and Season 38 of “The Simpsons”. Also on the service are the second season of International Emmy and BAFTA Award-winning series “Rivals,” comedy “Only Murders in the Building,” Walt Disney Animation Studios’ “Zootropolis 2” and 20th Century Studios’ “Send Help”.

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Marvel Television’s “VisionQuest” is on the way, and Disney’s live-action “Moana” is due later this autumn. Beyond Hollywood, the Turkish title “Halef” is coming to the platform alongside a lineup of Korean entertainment: Korean-Japanese romantic comedy “Merry Berry Love” is streaming now, and “The Remarried Empress” arrives November 4.

Existing subscribers will be prompted to download the new app and sign in with their current credentials, with on-screen steps covering account confirmation and profile setup. Subscriptions start at AED 49.99 per month and can be canceled at any time.

For UAE subscribers planning to travel, the update will likely be well received, but Disney has left one question open. It confirms Europe and the United States as supported markets but doesn’t yet say which others fall under and beyond.