Telecompaper

Tata Communications has signed a pact with five Middle East telecommunications companies to build a new cable system that will connect the region to the rest of the world. The five companies are Bahrain Internet Exchange, Oman's Nawras, Qatar Telecom, Saudi Arabia's Mobily and UAE-based Etisalat. The five operators will act as landing parties in Tata's Global Network Gulf Cable System. This system will connect the Gulf Region directly to the world's major business hubs and city centres. In a planned second phase other countries in the Gulf will be joined to the network. The total length of the cable system within the Gulf region will stretch some 4,469km, reaching from Mumbai through to Oman and onto Kuwait. Building and installing the global submarine cable will take approximately 22 months. The cable and the relationships enabled by the Gulf Cable System will provide the basis for an extended portfolio of value-added services for local and global enterprise customers. When it is completed, the cable will enable at least 1.28 TBps of additional international connectivity in the region.