News

Lebanon In Talks With Elon Musk’s Starlink To Enhance Internet Services

The government has initiated discussions to bring satellite internet to the country, aiming to boost connectivity and attract international investment.

Published

1 year ago

May 30, 2025

Nour Nasir

Starlink

Lebanon’s government has entered formal discussions with Elon Musk’s satellite internet provider, Starlink, to explore bringing the high-speed service to the country. The talks were confirmed on Thursday following a meeting between Prime Minister Nawaf Salam, Starlink’s Director of Licensing and Development Sam Turner, and U.S. Ambassador Lisa Johnson, according to a statement shared via Musk’s social platform X.

President Joseph Aoun also met separately with Turner, receiving updates from Telecoms Minister Charles Hage about the ongoing negotiations with SpaceX, Starlink’s famous parent company. The introduction of Starlink would position Lebanon among the 136 countries globally benefiting from the company’s satellite-driven connectivity, enhancing internet services across various sectors.

lebanon in talks to bring starlink internet to the country

Minister Hage emphasized the potential for Starlink’s presence in Lebanon to transform the country into a regional communications hub, stating this could significantly boost the nation’s attractiveness to global businesses and investors. Starlink’s services, known for their reliability and speed, promise substantial improvements to connectivity in critical areas such as banking, industry, education, and government operations, according to the Lebanese presidency.

Lebanon’s telecom infrastructure has faced persistent challenges, plagued by outdated technologies, high costs, and systemic issues linked to years of economic turmoil and mismanagement. Starlink’s entry could provide a much-needed upgrade, delivering faster and more dependable internet at a time when mobile data plans in Lebanon are among the most expensive in the world.

Also Read: UAE Introduces Region’s First License For “Finfluencers”

Previous efforts to bring Starlink to Lebanon stalled under former Telecoms Minister Johnny Corm, who cited security concerns and commercial disagreements as significant hurdles. Specifically, negotiations encountered legal and technical barriers relating to data storage and privacy. SpaceX initially requested data servers to be based in Qatar or Germany, a demand incompatible with Lebanon’s personal data protection laws (Law No. 81).

If current talks overcome these challenges, the successful integration of Starlink’s satellite internet could mark a pivotal shift in Lebanon’s digital landscape, opening new avenues for economic recovery, innovation, and global investment.

Related Topics:Internet Lebanon Starlink

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Visa’s Return To Syria Starts With A Test And A Bank In Lebanon

Foreign visitors will be the first users to benefit, but whether Syria’s own banks and cardholders follow is still an open question.

Published

2 days ago

August 27, 2026

Dana Saadeh

visa's return to syria starts with a test and a bank in lebanon

Visa is returning to Syria. Its first live international card transaction in the country was a test rather than a launch, and the milestone event ran through a Lebanese bank.

The acquirer (the bank on the merchant’s side of a card payment) was Fransabank Lebanon, with Paymera as the other named partner. Nadim Moujaes, who heads a Fransabank Group subsidiary, describes the test as both the culmination of “longstanding efforts to link Syria back to international payment networks” and “the first step in a larger path”.

Syrian President Ahmed Al-Sharaa makes the first electronic payment in Syria using a @Visa card at a store in Damascus, following the lifting of US sanctions on Syria. pic.twitter.com/lpAN7nQ6Fc

— Tech Magazine (@TechMGZN) August 27, 2026

“We are excited to have successfully tested live transactions today as we plan to enable international visitors to use their Visa cards while in Syria,” says Leila Serhan, Visa’s senior vice president and group country manager for the North Africa, Levant and Pakistan region. Although a significant first step, that plan doesn’t come with a hard date for when a visitor’s card will work normally.

Mohammed Safwat Raslan, governor of the Central Bank of Syria, says the test paves the way for international card acceptance in Syria and that maintaining strong compliance, risk management and operational controls will remain essential. Serhan likewise stresses that Visa has worked within applicable legal, regulatory and compliance requirements. For a test transaction, it seems there was a great deal of attention paid to the rules, with the entire operation being carefully managed.

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

The test is the latest step in a sequence that began in December 2025, when Visa announced a strategic roadmap to support Syria’s integration into the global digital economy. In February 2026 it hosted its first industry gathering of banks, ecosystem partners and policymakers in Damascus and, the same month, signed an agreement with Syria’s Ministry of Communications and Information Technology in San Francisco.

Michel Kattouah, Paymera’s CEO, called the test “the return of international card acceptance,” but while that’s positive news, there’s no word yet on when a Syrian bank will issue a Visa card to a Syrian customer.