Middle Eastern carrier-neutral submarine fibre network operator Gulf Bridge International (GBI) and optical technology provider Xtera Communications have deployed what they claim to be the Mediterranean Sea’s first commercial 100Gbps repeatered submarine cable system on the GBI network connecting Egypt to Italy. Xtera provided its Nu-Wave Optima platform in a Submarine Line Terminal Equipment (SLTE) configuration delivering 100G waves on a fibre pair.
Elsewhere this week, GBI and Kuwaiti ISP/data services operator Gulfnet Communications announced the signing of a capacity sale agreement on the GBI undersea network, which offers routes from Europe to the Middle East and on to Asia. Also this week, Iraq’s Investment & Technology Group of Companies (via its ITC Communications division) signed a strategic alliance agreement with Hong Kong-based international carrier PCCW Global, following the Iraqi company winning a 15-year investment licence from Iraq Telecommunication & Post Company (ITPC) to market transmission capacity over the GBI fibre-optic cable connecting all Gulf coast countries. Fadil Mosawi, chairman of the Investment & Technology Group, said: ‘Together with the new GBI fibre cable, the Iraqi people will soon be able to connect to the rest of world with higher internet connection speed and enjoy new services including voice-over-internet protocol (VoIP), high definition TV, as well as a host of other business applications such as cloud computing. Video teleconferencing will make doing business with Iraq simpler and more efficient. Healthcare institutions and universities will also benefit from the availability of large bandwidth and higher access speeds.’ ITC Communications was previously licensed as a VSAT operator, providing international connectivity to Iraqis.