Etisalat, ITPC and STC team up for FOG2 submarine cable

UAE-based Emirates Telecommunications Corporation (Etisalat), the Iraqi Telecommunications & Post Company (ITPC) and Saudi Telecom Company (STC) will lay a submarine cable connecting the three countries. The companies have signed a Construction and Maintenance Agreement (C&MA) for the development of the system, which has been dubbed FOG2. The submarine cable network will be equipped with 80Gbps capacity over two fibre-pairs. It will initially link Fujeirah in the UAE, Saudi Arabia’s east coast and Um-Qasr in Iraq, and will be around 1,500km in length. The rollout of the network is currently up for tender, and is expected to be completed by the end of this year.