IDM launches new public Internet kiosks at Beirut International Airport

Lebanon: Monday, March 22 - 2004 at 14:22 

IDM launches new public Internet kiosks at Beirut
International Airport
AME Info, United Arab Emirates


IDM announced that it has won the bid for the
provision of Internet on exclusive basis at Beirut
International Airport.

The press conference took place on Wednesday March 17,
2004, in the Departure Hall at Beirut International
Airport, in the presence of His Excellency Jean-Louis
Cardahi, Minister of Telecommunications, Mr. Charbel
Fakhoury, General Manager – Microsoft Eastern
Mediterranean, Mr. Gilbert La Croix, President - Intel
corporation Middle East & Africa, IDM management,
Airport Management, TRIPLE C management, as well as
local and regional press representatives. 

Beirut Airport is among the first airports in the
Middle-East and in the world to provide such a
service. The service provides 15 kiosks with Internet
access distributed throughout the different departure
gates of the airport, 2 additional kiosks in the
arrival area, and a HOT SPOT access that covers the
departure and arrival hall as well as the VIP lounges.


Hot Spot or Wireless computing has made unprecedented
deployment progress in recent years. Increasingly,
wireless-enabled laptops have become the end-user
computing platform of choice, particularly among
people who travel frequently for work. Wireless
computing and mobilization simplify the tasks and
virtually create more hours in the day, which is
especially important for the business and the leisure
traveler. Airports are ideal hotspot locations: as
travelers wait for their plane to depart, they find it
convenient to be wirelessly connected to their company
intranet or to the Internet. For travelers with
laptops not equipped with the WIFI features, 17
Internet kiosks have been strategically located at the
departure gates and in the arrival hall. 

Zakie Karam, Sales Manager of IDM applauded this
initiative and said: 'This is a visionary initiative
by the government and we are very happy to be chosen
to perform this operation which requires expertise and
follow-up. IDM has been providing Internet services to
top corporations in Lebanon and we are well-known to
be a reliable Internet & solution provider. IDM
accepted the challenge and we are looking forward to
serve the airport and to provide quality Internet for
the coming 4 years.' 

The launching of this new service comes in line with
the government initiative to reposition Beirut
International Airport on a global scale in terms of
Internet facilities. 

Mr. Abdo Bejjani, Managing Director of the Airport and
Head of the Meteorology Department at BIA added: 'The
implementation of the Hot Spot solution and the public
Internet kiosks is a major step for the national
economy in which Beirut enters a new era of servicing
standards, especially in the business sector, and
joins, in its vision, the other main business
capitals. We are excited to offer this new passenger
service to both the traveling public and our airport
tenants. We believe that this service further serves
to distinguish Beirut International Airport as a
leader in the customer service area.' Mr. Bejjani
added: 'Some time ago, we began looking at the
different business models for providing Internet
access throughout the airport and we felt that IDM
offered the best solution to address not only the
needs of the traveling public, but also the needs of
our other important constituents such as airlines and
concessionaires, among others.' 

Charbel Fakhoury, General Manager – Microsoft Eastern
Mediterranean said: 'Microsoft has always been
committed to the development of public services. We
are pleased to contribute to this project that will
surely enhance the implementation of more service
oriented projects in Beirut International Airport.
Microsoft technologies will enable the BIA's
administration to fulfill its vision of timely,
efficient competitive services thus maintaining the
highest standards Lebanon is reputed for.' 
Bernard Rizk, President and CEO of TRIPLE C said: 'Now
with Intel's CentrinoTM Mobile Technology, all
passengers in Beirut International Airport can reach
their destination before boarding using their Mobile
devices like CentrinoTM Notebooks & Tablet PCs, WiFi
PDAs … or the 17 kiosks distributed all over the
Airport. 

This service will consist on buying Internet cards,
available at the airport duty-free zone, at 5$ for 30
minutes of access and 10$ for 75 minutes of access.
The Internet cards can be entered in the traveler's
personal laptop as well as in the computers available
in any of the 17 kiosks implemented by IDM. The card
is valid for 1 year. The traveler also has the
possibility to pay by Credit Card through an online
authorization, or to use a HOT SPOT Roaming account. 

Qualified IDM staff will be in charge of the
supervision of the project 24/7.
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