Cable project draws closer

Telecom Italia Sparkle has joined the India-Middle East-Western Europe (IMEWE) undersea cable project which includes Telecom Egypt, Saudi Telecom Company (STC), Etisalat of the UAE and VSNL of India. The Italian telco says that the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) marks the first major milestone in the commissioning of the IMEWE project. The first construction contracts are due to be awarded by the end of this year, with the 2.56Tbps cable entering service by mid-2008.