Telecom Egypt, Aqua Comms sign deal for EMIC-1 subsea cable

By Esraa Ibrahim On Jun 14, 2022

State-run Telecom Egypt (TE) announced on Tuesday the signing of a crossing and landing agreement with Dublin-based Aqua Comms for the Europe Middle-East India Connect 1 (EMIC-1) subsea cable in Egypt.

Adel Hamed, managing director and chief executive of TE

As per the agreement, Telecom Egypt will offer EMIC-1, which is a new intercontinental subsea cable and terrestrial fibre system, a seamless optical path between East Africa, Asia, and Europe. This is the first modern cable along this route, connecting up to 3 billion people to the internet and accommodating for the increasing demand for data of the world’s fastest growing regions.

The new cable ties into D9’s, the owner of Aqua Comms, purpose, to improve connectivity around the world and bridge the digital divide.

“EMIC-1 will land in Ras Ghareb on the Red Sea, and Port Said on the Mediterranean Sea side. The two landing stations are connected over two diverse terrestrial routes, deploying next-generation of fibre optics. The new routes are adjacent to the Suez Canal, between Suez and Port Said.” TE statement read.

“Additionally, this crossing will also include a third new marine path, the Red Sea Festoon, that will link the Ras Ghareb and Suez landing stations with an option of the Suez Canal Route (a.k.a. the Al Morshedeen route), linking Port Said and Suez on the bank of the Suez Canal, offering a new level of resilience and diversity to the crossing solution.”

Adel Hamed, managing director and chief executive of TE, said: “We are pleased to offer Aqua Comms a seamless trans-Egypt crossing for their new cable. For years, we have established tangible steps to revamp our international infrastructure and increase our assets’ geodiversity to keep pace with the rising global demand for large bandwidth and global reach. We believe that EMIC-1 will be a valuable addition to the subsea cables landing in Egypt.”

Meanwhile, Nigel Bayliff, chief executive of Aqua Comms, said: “We are delighted to work with Telecom Egypt to deliver a highly resilient and innovative solution that will be a critical part of our new EMIC-1 system.”

“This new system will connect the key hubs in Europe of Genoa, Marseille and Barcelona with both Salalah, Oman and Mumbai, India serving these high-growth markets with best-in-class connectivity services.”