US wants Lebanese communcation licence

The US Army has requested the establishment of a telecommunications station within Lebanon, well-informed sources told Arabstoday, despite a series of denials by sources within the US Embassy. The station would link up US positions with embassies across the region, and would reportedly be used for reception and transmission only. It is understood the Lebanese Parliamentary Committee on Information and Communications will discuss the American request during today’s session. The US Army, represented by the Mintz Levin Services company, made a licensing request on October 10 for a send-and-receive satellite station in the country. A month later, the company sent another message to the Minister of Communication to inform him of the US’s desire to use very-small-aperture terminal [VSAT] systems in Lebanon to support its regional operations. The request revealed that such a satellite would also be used by the US Army to support the military operations in the region, connecting with a central station in Fayetteville, North Carolina which is "owned and managed by the United States Army.”