September, 2020: The tragic explosion that Beirut witnessed on August 4th has left more than 300,000 people homeless, thousands of injured, hundreds of deceased and millions of shattered hearts. With its commitment to stand by its community throughout these tragic times and with the aim to rebuild, reform and revive Beirut’s beating heart, IDM has joined forces with Cisco and Nethope and launched a CSR initiative to support the people, the businesses, and the city!
The partnership stems from the belief that it is the responsibility of all Lebanese to step up and help in any way they can. Indeed, the initiative focuses on offering a lending hand to fellow citizens by providing them with free Wi-Fi service in Mar Mikhael main street and adjoining buildings, an area that is unfortunately now home for the impacted families, the wrecked businesses and all the volunteers and NGOs that proliferated from every corner of the country to stand with the ones who suffered most and help them regain grounds.
The project’s purpose is to provide the victims of the area with partial relief, alleviating some of their worries by allowing them to connect with their loved ones and reclaim their everyday lives. The idea is also to help the whole area that is today hosting many businesses, on-trade outlets and also has the highest concentration of NGOs, volunteers and heroes who are giving their time and energy to be present day and night on ground to rebuild Beirut by supporting in community and rescue work. As Wi-Fi makes people’s lives easier, IDM felt the urge to help by facilitating the on-ground work, connecting people together and ensuring a smooth “rescue and rebuild” operation.
Plans are set to cover the area, starting at the Train Station, Mar Mikhael, and ending at the intersection of Gouraud and Pasteur streets next to EDL’s headquarters. Cisco Meraki Access points have been installed in 4 clusters, along battery backup power in order to operate 24/7. Each cluster is connected to the Internet using an IDM provided link in 4 locations.
Cisco is the worldwide leader in providing IT services, networking, and cybersecurity solutions while NetHope is a global consortium of nonprofit organizations that specializes in improving IT connectivity among humanitarian organizations in developing countries and areas affected by disaster and for refugees.
With that partnership, IDM, Cisco and Nethope spread the message of hope and give strength to Lebanese people by allowing them to stay connected during these hard times. If you’re in the area, sign-in to IDM_Cisco_Nethope , connect together and spread the word!