Lebanon orders transfer of illegal internet subscribers to legal networks in three months

In brief: Lebanon's Cassation Public Prosecution has ordered the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority to migrate illegal internet subscribers to legal networks across ten Ogero central exchanges within three months. The judicial writ aims to halt the waste of public funds, stop the deprivation of state treasury revenues and end unlawful encroachment on the legal network.

A judicial mandate addressed to Lebanon's Ministry of Telecommunications and the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) has tasked the regulator with transferring illegal internet subscribers to authorized networks without service interruptions or extra costs. Issued by Public Prosecutor at the Court of Cassation Judge Ahmad Rami Al-Hajj, the directive requires the authority to coordinate with security forces to end unlicensed operations.

Scope of the exchange migration and regulatory basis

Under the writ, the TRA must complete the transfer across ten Ogero central exchanges within three months of the order date. The designated exchanges cover Achrafieh, Badaro, Adlieh, Hamra, Mina El Hosn, Ras Beirut, Baabda, Hazmieh, Tripoli, El Mina and Bohssas. As the supervisor of the telecommunications sector, the authority will deploy its technical and technological experts to execute the switch across those areas.

Al-Hajj issued the order to halt state financial losses caused by unlicensed internet operations. In a statement reported by Sawt Beirut International, Al-Hajj said the decision followed "the spread of illegal internet networks, and the resulting waste of public funds and deprivation of the state treasury of financial revenues." Companies and individuals, he said, had been "encroaching on the legal network and practising this activity in violation of the law."

The prosecutor grounded the mandate in TRA Decision No. 4/2026, issued on 5 February 2026. That regulatory decision set rules for organizing unlicensed internet networks and shifting their users to legal networks, while requiring continuous customer service without extra burdens.

Security agency coordination and subscriber protections

As reported by Lebanon Files, the mandate stated that the transfer must be executed in a manner that "guarantees the continuity of internet service for subscribers without interruption, in accordance with approved technical, administrative and legal procedures." The order also stated that the migration must proceed "without imposing additional burdens on subscribers" as connections move to Ogero, according to El Siyasa.

To enforce compliance, the prosecution instructed the TRA to coordinate with relevant authorities and specialized security agencies. Four security bodies have been tasked with assisting and accompanying the regulator in implementing the required procedures: the Army Command, the Directorate General of Internal Security Forces, the Directorate General of General Security and the Directorate General of State Security. These agencies will help take necessary measures and draw up judicial reports against violators.

What happens next

During the transition, the TRA must compile periodic reports for the Cassation Public Prosecution. Each filing will detail measures taken, tally the users moved to legal networks, and list formal warnings and deadlines issued to non-compliant operators.

The reports will prepare the ground for suppressing violations and completing the transfer of internet services to legal networks with the assistance of the designated security forces within the three-month deadline.

Read more: DataReportal Digital 2027 report records 5.42 million internet users in Lebanon · Lebanon advances $150 million World Bank-backed digital transformation programme

Sources: Lebanon Files, Sawt Beirut International, El Siyasa

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