Bandwidth boost between Middle East and Europe as cable plan announced
Rebecca Hawkes | 03-10-2013
An ambitious new terrestrial cable is being rolled out by four Gulf telcos to meet the bandwidth demands of high definition (HD) video and other data-rich Internet services propelled by the region's expanding 4G mobile networks.
With a US$36 million investment from du, Zain, Zajil Telecom and Vodafone Qatar, the Middle East-Europe Terrestrial System (MEETS) will initially comprise a 1,400km cable from Fujairah in the UAE to Kuwait, complete with a state-of-the-art 100G optical transport network (OTN). Providing 200Gbps capacity, MEETS will be carried over an optical ground wire associated with a regional high-tension electricity network.
The GCC element is projected to become operational in the first quarter of 2014, while the second phase, linking Kuwait to Europe, will follow.
"Customers in the Middle East today have ever-increasing high speed data needs as it is becoming an integral part of today's lifestyle. We are proud to be part of this joint effort that will eventually benefit millions of Internet users and telecom customers over a wide geography spanning the Middle East and Europe," said Osman Sultan, CEO, du.
Kyle Whitehill, CEO, Vodafone Qatar, added: "This exciting new development is a significant part of Vodafone's growing commitment to the Middle East region. The UAE is a natural hub for Vodafone operating companies in Asia, Africa and Europe to exchange traffic with each other and partners."
du will be the landing party in the UAE, while Vodafone Qatar will be in Qatar, Zain in Saudi Arabia, and Zajil in Bahrain and Kuwait.
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