Telecommunications operator Telecom Egypt and NaiTel, a licensed telecommunications service provider in Jordan, have announced the signing of a joint build agreement to construct Coral Bridge, a subsea cable system connecting Egypt and Jordan.
The Coral Bridge system will cross the Gulf of Aqaba, creating a point-to-point infrastructure between Taba on the Egyptian side and Aqaba on the Jordanian side. With no repeaters and a high fibre count, the system will, the partners say, maximise the geographical advantages of the region to cater for international community needs and act as a meeting point for traffic flowing between East and West.
As the first subsea system to be laid in the Gulf of Aqaba since 1997, Coral Bridge will connect two significant locations in the Middle East and aggregate the traffic flow being hosted in a fully neutral facility called Aqaba Digital Hub (NaiTel is the telecom arm of Aqaba Digital Hub).
Through this connection, the partners add, the new cable system will serve the Jordanian market as well as neighbouring countries, providing end-to-end solutions from Aqaba to Europe by capitalising on Telecom Egypt’s diversified subsea infrastructure footprint and resilient crossing network.
Telecom Egypt is clearly living up to its boast that it is one of the largest subsea cable operators in its region. Recent months have seen a number of big announcements, including plans with Zain Omantel International (ZOI) for a new digital corridor bridging the Mediterranean and Arabian seas and an MoU with 4iG, a Budapest-based telecommunications and IT group, to link Egypt and Albania via a point-to-point high-capacity subsea cable.
