The tragic Beirut Port explosion attracted much humanitarian support and endeavors to the afflicted Lebanese capital, from inside Lebanon as well as from abroad.
Driven by a sense of duty toward Lebanon, the popular local Internet Service Provider IDM decided to do its part in providing some relief to the people of Beirut, who are still traumatized by the massive explosion of August 4th.
This unique initiative provides free WiFi to the public in the main street of Mar Mikhail – a neighborhood that sustained some of the severest instances of damage in Beirut by the blast – and the buildings surrounding it.
The free service comes in collaboration with Cisco, one of the world’s most prominent IT, networking, and cybersecurity companies, and NetHope, a consortium of 60 global NGOs that specialize in improving the IT sector in developing countries and areas struck by disaster.
The coverage starts at the Mar Mikhail Train Station and ends at the intersection of Gouraud and Pasteur streets next to the headquarters of Electricity of Lebanon.
Cisco access points have been installed in 4 clusters in the covered area. The access points are connected to a backup power source so that the service is available at all times.
These access points are, in turn, connected to IDM links in 4 locations, providing Internet access to any devices that connect to them.
All it takes to gain access is to sign in to IDM_Cisco_Nethope when present in the covered area.