Telecom Egypt partners with Aqua Comms on EMIC-1 subsea cable

Telecom Egypt and Aqua Comms have signed a crossing and landing agreement for the Europe Middle-East India Connect 1 subsea cable in Egypt.

Under this agreement, Telecom Egypt will provide EMIC-1, which is a new intercontinental subsea cable and terrestrial fibre system, a seamless optical path between East Africa, Asia, and Europe.

It is the first modern cable along this route and connects up to 3bn people to the internet. EMIC-1 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. 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.

Commenting on the agreement, Adel Hamed, Managing Director and CEO of Telecom Egypt, 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.”

Nigel Bayliff, CEO of Aqua Comms, added: “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.”