Beirut - Minister of Telecommunications, Nicolas Sehnaoui announced that on Friday August 19th 2011,he submitted to the Cabinet a draft decree for the reduction of Internet tariffs and hoped that this project will be on the agenda of the Cabinet's next meeting scheduled for Tuesday. He said that the testing phase for the third generation (3G) mobile phone service will kick off in September, with 4000 participants, 25% of which are young people, mostly school and university students.

Under the high patronage and in presence of H.E. the Minister of Telecommunications Nicolas Sehnaoui, Alfa, the first Lebanese mobile network managed by Orascom Telecom, held its annual media Iftar on Thursday August 18th, at Le Maillon Achrafieh. The Iftarwas attended bymedia veterans and representatives of major Lebanese press, radio and TV outlets, in addition todirectors and counselorsfrom the Ministry of Telecommunications as well asAlfa's senior management.

Sehnaoui
Minister Sehnaoui announced that on Friday August 19th2011, he submitted to the Cabineta project for the reduction of internet tariffs and hoped that this project will be on the agenda of the next Cabinet meeting scheduled for Tuesday. He said that the testing phase for the third generation (3G) mobile phone service will kick off in September, with 4000 participants, 25% of which are young people, mostly school and university students.He also welcomed the support brought by Orascom Telecom to the Lebanese talents, while calling for "preserving those talents and investing their capabilities in Lebanon."

Hayek
In a welcoming speech addressed at the guests, Alfa Chairman & CEO, Marwan Hayek thanked the media for their invaluable mission of delivering timely and accurate information to the Lebanese citizens, and forhighlighting thecorporate social responsibility (CSR) initiativesthat Alfa has been pioneeringin Lebanonthrough its Corporate Social Responsibility Program "Alfa 4-Life.""As a leading business in the growing Lebanese Telecommunications sector,we realize there are growing expectations of us in the area of CSR and we promise to continue our efforts to support the various segments of the society who need assistance, especially children with communication needs, so that they can access their right to equality with other members of society", said Hayek.

Hayek also praised the vital role played by the media in recent months, through introducing the public to the benefits of the 3G technology and the importance of its adoption in the Lebanese telecommunications sector, at a time when Alfa is preparing to launch next October the 3G services to its subscribers, the first beneficiaries of which will be the users in the Mount Lebanon and Beirut regions, in collaboration with the Ministry of Telecommunications.

Hayek later outlined the string of services launched by Alfa in the current year to improve mobile phone services and make them available to everyone, the last of which was the "Alfa Waffer" plan, which was enthusiastically received by a wide group of middle-income users,facilitating communicationbetween them and other societymembers.

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