The Ministry of Telecoms says that internet, fixed-line and mobile telephone services have been restored in eastern regions of Libya after damage to an undersea cable caused a total shutdown in communications.

The Ministry of Telecoms and Informatics says that service on the Al Madar and Libyana mobile networks in eastern parts of Libya has been restored, but maintenance on an undersea cable will take three days.

Telephone and internet services were disrupted in large parts of eastern Libya on 9 January.

A new 425km undersea fibre-optic cable connecting Libya with Greece has now been completed, and is expected to improve internet access speeds in eastern Libya.

State-owned mobile telephone operator has extended its network to a remote area of southern Libya.

State-owned mobile telephone operator Al Madar says its network now reaches several towns in southern Libya, including Murzuq and Traghen.

The Ministry of Communications and Informatics says that fire damage to a fibre-optic cable in Tripoli has been repaired.

A fire in Tripoli damanged a fibre optic cable on 1 January, disrupting fixed-line and internet services.

A trade survey said that some 780,000 Libyans used Facebook by the end of 2012, with the number of users rising by around 86% during the course of the year.

The telecoms ministry says that an act of 'sabotage' on a facility near Bani Walid has forced Al Madar to suspend its mobile telephone services in the area.

A delegation of UK companies in the Information and Communications Technology sector is expected to visit Libya in March next year.

The Ministry of Communications and Technology has agreed contracts to upgrade the network of one of Libya's two state-owned mobile operators.

Cairo-based Raya Holding, a telecoms and IT company, says it plans to establish a presence in Tripoli by early next year.

China's Huawei has won a contract from the Ministry of Communications and Informatics for work on a high-speed cable in eastern Libya.

Al Motahedoon, the Libyan member firm of the PriceWaterhouseCoopers network of accounting and advisory companies, has won a contract with the Ministry of Communications and Informatics.