Under the patronage of Prime Minister Saad Hariri, represented by Minister of Telecommunications Jamal Al-Jarrah, BeitMisk and Ogero held a press conference on Saturday September 16th to launch fiber-to-the-home and introduce BeitMisk as the first Smart City project in Lebanon.
"His Excellency wished to be with us today to witness this achievement," Minister Jarrah told the audience. He added that PM Hariri "might even suggest a Council meeting in BeitMisk to show everyone how the country can actually move toward development."
Addressing Georges Zard Abou Jaoude, Chairman of BeitMisk, he said: "I congratulate you on this achievement because you are a true Lebanese; whomever goes against all odds to launch a new project in Lebanon is a genuine citizen who has faith in his country and gives more than expected from him," and adding "we have a dream similar to yours, that the entire country can one day enjoy fast internet, Internet of things (IoT) and all the technologies available today at BeitMisk."
He pointed out that "the Smart City project in BeitMisk is only the beginning, as we hope that the experience will be duplicated everywhere in Lebanon because it is a right for the Lebanese to have these services provided to them as well as all the benefits of technological advancements."
He explained: "When we knew that BeitMisk project was fiber equipped, we contacted them to connect the fiber optic network and provide them with high speed internet to be able to serve the residents of this project. We wanted through this project to prove two points; first that Lebanon is a developed country and BeitMisk is the proof of that; and second, that the partnership between the private and the public sector solves all of our problems and helps us move the country to a totally different and advanced position."
"Georges Zard Abou Jaoude, as a businessman, could have invested anywhere in the world where his return would be higher, easier and exempt from risk. Yet, he decided that his country was more deserving, so I salute him for this project, which we are all proud of, and we hope for the same for our country."
Sharing what the ministry has accomplished in the field of updating the country's telecommunication and digital insfrastructure in preparation of fiber optic implementation, he said: "We are doing everything we can to accomplish the fiber-to-the-home and fiber-to-the-cabinet. We firmly believe that the country can only progress through them, just as it has happened today in BeitMisk."
He concluded by thanking Abou Jaoude,"both as a businessman and as a visionary."
Georges Zard Abou Jaoude
"BeitMisk's identity has been defined right from the start, as a real green village by its nature and clean climate, and at the same time as an integrated city adopting modern technologies," said Georges Zard Abou Jaoude, Chairman of the project. "From the very beginning, our ambition was to be a modern, yet environmentally friendly village."
He explained that "green spaces in BeitMisk amount to 75% of the total area of the project," a figure that exceeds local percentages in other real estate developments. Furthermore, the project is surrounded by greenery and trees that contribute to the mitigation of pollution. He pointed out that "studies showed that percentages of harmful CO2 emissions in BeitMisk are much lower than the local and global percentages allowed."
He added that the project "adopts environmentally friendly techniques in the irrigation systems of green spaces, which largely reduces the amount of fresh water used." He said that "the varieties of plants and trees at BeitMisk are an integral part of the nature surrounding the project, and only need a small amount of water." He specified that "the sewage in BeitMisk is being treated and reused to irrigate common green spaces."
"As a result of our concern for the environment, we have adopted measures to reduce energy consumption, including supplying all new residential units with solar heaters, adopting energy-efficient LED lighting which use 90% less energy than conventional lighting, and installing heat insulation to reduce heating and cooling costs." He added that "the project has also adopted natural gas instead of diesel, for space and water heating, which greatly reduces CO2 emissions."
Mr. Abou Jaoude explained that the waste in BeitMisk are extracted from the source, and "Internal and external containers were provided to the residents to be able to sort and separate waste. The new housing units are also equipped with special containers for the production of manure from organic waste."
"BeitMisk is committed to building residential units according to the international criteria that allowed it to obtain the BREEAM global environmental certificate, in addition to its commitment to the implementation of a forestation plan."
On the launch of the fiber optics internet, Mr. Abou Jaoude said: "Today we are undertaking a new step in BeitMisk and Ogero's journey, with the launch of an ambitious project that allows us to dream, and allows the Lebanese to dream of having it implemented all over Lebanon. Today, we are not only launching fiber optics internet to every home, but we are also establishing the first Smart City in Lebanon."
He added that "Thanks to BeitMisk's modern infrastructure, our village represents an excellent opportunity for Ogero to test the concept of a Smart City in Lebanon. We are confident, with the vision of Prime Minister Saad Hariri in the field of technology, we will witness more of these projects that help Lebanon evolve and allow it to keep abreast of all the progress taking place in the world," he said.
Mr. Abou Jaoude concluded by saying: "We are proud that BeitMisk will be the first project of this kind in Lebanon, and we hope to see all of Lebanon turn into an environmentally friendly country in the 21st century."
Ogero
Ogero Chairman and Director General, Imad Kreidieh said that the fiber optic transmission project in BeitMisk began in 2012, thanking the "visionary" decision makers who took the decision and implemented it, describing this initiative as "very important".
He introduced the Smart City concept and the benefits it offers, leading a live demonstration with the Ogero team to download huge files, and display HD movies.
The demos they did included the following:
- SPEED TEST with Minister Jarrah that showed the upload and download speeds (mention the numbers)
- How fast a huge file took to download (seconds!)
- Streamed HD and 4K videos in crystal clear resolution through Netflix showcasing that videos load without any lag/latency or buffering time
He added: "Today we are launching a long-awaited initiative that the residents of BeitMisk will benefit from as of tomorrow." He thanked BeitMisk for "the opportunity to implement this project".
Data Consult
"The project consists of three stages, the first being the digitization of the various readings through the installation of digital sensors at the source of the information; the second is the transfer of this information via antenna to an information platform built by Data Consult specifically for this presentation, while the third stage is the intelligent analysis of the vast amount of information through artificial intelligence programs," explained Mark Nader, CEO of Data Consult.
He pointed out that Data Consult cooperated with Cisco International and Actility, explaining that this system "gives BeitMisk team that manages the project access to information of events and readings when they occur immediately such as readings of water, electricity, gas, heat and humidity. The team can also shut down or operate pumps and gates or be alerted of any fire." He added that Data Consult equipped BeitMisk with "electronic sensors to read the quality of air and show the amount and type of pollution, having already showed the quality of the site and the purity of air."
The system authorizes residents of BeitMisk to read and know the information they want through a smart chatbot address on Facebook.
