Before you start

Passport, and residence permit for a postpaid line
An unlocked handset
A building whose generator actually covers your working hours
A realistic backup plan for calls that cannot be missed

Step-by-step

1
Buy a prepaid line on arrival
touch and Alfa both have stores across Beirut and at Beirut–Rafic Hariri International. A prepaid line gets you working immediately. Use official stores rather than informal resellers.
In personWho: You15–30 minutesVerify current pricing — Lebanese telecom tariffs have been revised repeatedly
2
Ask what internet the building actually has before signing a lease
Ogero fixed lines, private ISP wireless links and building-level arrangements all exist and vary enormously street to street. If you work remotely, this is a lease-selection criterion, not an afterthought. Ask a current resident what speed they really get and how it behaves when the state power is off.
In personWho: YouBefore signing a leaseFree to ask, expensive to get wrong
3
Confirm the generator covers your working hours
A router without power is a router without internet. Ask what hours the building's generator runs, at what amperage your flat is subscribed, and whether the subscription covers enough load to run a router, a laptop and a light at the same time. Solar installations are increasingly common and are worth asking about.
In personWho: YouBefore signing a leasePart of the generator subscription
4
Buy a UPS or battery backup for the router
A small uninterruptible power supply keeps the router and a laptop alive through the gaps between state power and generator. This is standard practice in Beirut among people who work online and it is the single highest-value purchase you can make in your first week.
In personWho: YouFirst weekModest, and it pays for itself immediately
5
Keep a mobile data fallback for critical calls
Have enough mobile data to tether through an outage, and know which of your two possible networks performs better where you live. For anyone on calls into other time zones, this is a working requirement rather than a precaution.
Mobile appWho: YouOngoingData bundle cost
6
Save your address as a map pin
Beirut addresses are given by district, street and building name or landmark, and formal addressing is inconsistent. A saved pin plus a nearby landmark is what you will send to every delivery, taxi and visitor.
Mobile appWho: YouDay oneFree

Documents you’ll need

Passport for a prepaid line; residence permit for postpaid
Unlocked handset
Lease for a fixed internet installation

Things most newcomers don’t know

In Beirut, connectivity is an electricity problem wearing an internet costume.

The network is not usually the constraint — the router's power supply is. State electricity from EDL covers part of the day; the rest comes from a neighbourhood generator whose hours and capacity vary by building. That makes 'is the internet good here' the wrong question and 'what hours does the generator run, and at what amperage' the right one. Anyone working online should treat generator coverage as a primary criterion when choosing a flat, ahead of the view.

Source: EDL supply situation; local generator subscription practice

The generator tariff is published monthly by the Ministry of Energy and Water, and metering is required.

Private generator subscriptions are not an unregulated free-for-all: the Ministry of Energy and Water issues a monthly tariff that tracks diesel prices, and the Ministry of Economy has required electronic meters so that subscribers are billed on measured consumption rather than a flat estimate. That gives you something to check a bill against. Ask whether your building has a meter and what the current published tariff is — a lot of subscribers do not know either exists.

Source: Ministry of Energy and Water monthly generator tariffs; Ministry of Economy metering requirement

A UPS is the highest-value purchase a remote worker makes in Lebanon.

A small uninterruptible power supply keeps a router and a laptop running through the transitions between state power and generator, and through short generator outages. It costs very little relative to a missed client call, and it is standard equipment in Beirut among people who work online. Buy one in your first week rather than after the first dropped meeting.

Source: Local practice among remote workers

Solar has become common, and it is worth asking about explicitly.

A substantial number of Lebanese households and buildings installed rooftop solar during the electricity crisis, and a building with solar plus battery storage behaves very differently from one relying only on a diesel generator — quieter, cheaper to run and less exposed to fuel price moves. It rarely appears in a rental listing. Ask directly, because it materially changes both the monthly cost and the reliability of a flat.

Source: Lebanese solar adoption during the electricity crisis

Common mistakes to avoid

Choosing a flat on the view and the rent without asking about generator hours and amperage.
Assuming a fibre or ISP package solves connectivity when the constraint is power.
Not buying a UPS before your first important call.
Never checking the building's generator bill against the published monthly tariff.
Relying on a written street address rather than a map pin and a landmark.

Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.