April 01, 2010

Since the establishment of the Authority and as per Law 431 to liberalize, regulate and develop the telecommunication market, the TRA is seeking to meet the needs of the Lebanese telecommunication sector in order to provide better service and to secure the dissemination of broadband services through the preparation of related regulations and draft decrees and through the acquisition for the Republic of Lebanon of the latest hardware and software to manage, allocate and monitor the use of spectrum. The Authority sought to secure international support to purchase the equipment and ensure staff training in that regard. This project was undertaken in the framework of the application of Law 431 according to the prerogatives entrusted to the Authority and to better serve the interests of Lebanese consumers of telecommunications services.

The TRA achieved a major milestone in February 13, 2009 by signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with USAID granting the Authority 3 million American dollars for the procurement of a spectrum management and measurement system (SMMS) and the requisite assistance and training. This MoU enables the TRA to acquire the latest hardware and software to manage the spectrum and to ensure the related technical assistance and training that would lead to optimized spectrum management. The SMMS allows the TRA to efficiently manage the spectrum, establish the rules for its use, identify entities exploiting frequencies, define spectrum occupancy, and track sources of interference. The system will lead to better license protection from any interference and unauthorized use.

The SMMS implementation will result in improved consumer rights protection by ensuring a greater quality of service, in current and future investors’ reassurance through guaranteed license protection and in new resources for the Public Treasury through the allocation of new frequencies. The SMMS will finally allow the TRA to better coordinate its scarce resources management efforts with the International Telecommunications Union (ITU).

To learn more about the SMMS, click here