Libya coverage

What the Libya numbers mean

Two numbers matter and only one of them is the one every seller quotes. The typical speed, 20.1 Mbps, tells you what a good moment looks like.

If the trip depends on video calls or tethering, plan around the busy figure rather than the typical one.

What happens in Libya when the network is busy

Congestion is not a fault, it is a Tuesday evening. The question is what your eSIM can do about it, and for most travel eSIMs the answer is nothing: one wholesale agreement per country, one network, and no way out except buying a second eSIM from somebody else while standing in the street.

Here, Orbislo traffic runs over Libyana, Almadar Aljadid and Hatef Libya. When the network you are on degrades we move you to another one, mid trip, without you asking, and tell you afterwards rather than interrupting you at the time.

Mobile operators in Libya

• Libyana and Almadar: Both main mobile networks, Libyana and Almadar, belong to the state holding company LPTIC, the former General Post and Telecommunications Company. A third provider, Libya Phone, is owned by Libya Telecom and Technology, itself a state subsidiary.
• Almadar Aljadid: Almadar Aljadid is a state company founded in 1995 and based in Tripoli. It was the first mobile network to operate in Libya and reports more than 5 million subscribers across government bodies, businesses and individuals.
• Almadar Aljadid: Almadar switched on VoLTE, voice calls carried over its 4G network, on 11 January 2026. At launch it worked only on Samsung phones running Android 14 or later, with other devices and operating systems to follow in later phases.

5G in Libya

• Almadar Aljadid officially launched Libya's first 5G service on 27 January 2026, starting with Tripoli as phase one and promising the other Libyan cities in turn.
• Almadar's 5G starts in selected squares and university campuses and is expanding gradually. Its 5G data packages can be added to prepaid and postpaid lines alike, and users on 5G get priority on the network while inside its coverage.
• Almadar first switched on a trial 5G network in Tripoli in October 2019, at a ceremony attended by the head of the Presidential Council, more than six years before the commercial launch.

Network notes for Libya

• Almadar and Libyana began rolling out 4G in southern cities in October 2021, under a plan announced by the state holding company LPTIC to close the coverage gap between the south and the coast.
• Service across Libya is frequently interrupted by power cuts, and high demand, damaged infrastructure, sabotage and theft of telecoms equipment all weigh on connection quality. Disruption is most common in the east.
• Hatif Libya, an LPTIC subsidiary set up in 2008, controls the national fibre optic backbone. Because the country's internet traffic is centralised through the state holding company, the authorities are able to restrict access.
• The regulator is the General Authority for Communications and Informatics. Regulations issued in November 2022 let it license digital services, with internet providers paying a 150 dinar application fee and a 1,000 dinar approval certificate, and allow providers to run their own international gateways.
• The Silphium submarine cable, wholly owned by the Libyan state through the Libyan International Telecoms Company, was completed in October 2021 to link Libya with Greece and add international capacity for the eastern region.
• In November 2023 the Medusa submarine cable system, 8,760 km long, agreed to extend to Libya with two landing points, Tripoli and Benghazi, making Libya the eleventh country on a route that runs from Portugal to Egypt.
• Libya inaugurated its Medusa submarine cable project on 11 May 2025, led by the state holding company LPTIC and meant to lift internet quality and speed in Tripoli, Misrata and Benghazi.
• Libya's political split reaches the telecoms sector. The state holding company LPTIC has had separate offices in Malta, representing the Tobruk-based government, and in Tripoli, representing the Tripoli government.