TE and 4iG to Construct New Subsea Cable

4iG Plc info-communications company and TE (Telecom Egypt), have reached an agreement on the terms of cooperation for the construction of an express subsea cable between Albania and Egypt. Telecom Egypt is Egypt’s first integrated telecom operator and one of the largest subsea cable operators in the region.

Following the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) last October, this terms of cooperation agreement establishes a joint venture between the two companies for the intercontinental subsea cable project. The express subsea cable will create a high capacity, intercontinental connection linking Africa and Asia—through the Red Sea—to Europe, via Egypt, the Mediterranean, and Albania.

4iG Plc Chairman Gellért Jászai and Telecom Egypt Managing Director and CEO Mohamed Nasr signed the agreement in Budapest, Hungary, in the presence of H.E. Mr. Márton Nagy, Minister of National Economy of Hungary, and H.E. Dr. Amr Talaat, Minister of Communications and Information Technology of Egypt, as well as top officials from both companies.

As the first cable to link the two countries, the planned subsea cable’s Mediterranean route will be quite unique, adding another layer of diversity to the conventional Mediterranean routes linking Egypt to Italy and France. It will capture a significant share of the huge and rapidly growing data traffic market between Asia, East Africa, and Europe.

Along its optimized marine path, the cable system will have the option to be extended to major Mediterranean destinations such as Libya, Cyprus, and Greece. The initial configuration of the subsea cable will also include a branch to Italy. At both ends of the cable, users will benefit from varied extension options with an open point-of-presence concept.

Egypt’s end of the cable will provide access to various subsea cables running southeast via the Red Sea to Asia and Africa, in addition to more than 10 terrestrial trans-Egypt routes connecting the Mediterranean cable segment to other cable extension options in the Red Sea.

On Albania’s end, the system will provide the shortest path to Frankfurt, as well as other important international traffic destinations in Eastern and Central Europe and the Balkans, such as Sofia, Vienna and Budapest.