The cable system will carry four fibre pairs and 40Tbps of total design capacity, providing consumers with faster access to the internet and content worldwide.
Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company (EITC), the parent company of Dubai-based telco Du, has partnered with wi-tribe Pakistan LDI Ltd to help open up a new data highway to China and on to Europe.
The Orient Express submarine fiber optic cable will be launched between the UAE and Pakistan, complementing EITCs expanding datamena and UAE-IX ecosystems and providing connectivity to other cable systems in the region.
Commenting on the announcement, Osman Sultan, CEO of EITC, said: With this milestone agreement, we are proud to be able to leverage off our extensive expertise to institute this new innovation via our strategic datamena facilities and the regional hub presence of over 150 content and cloud providers, including over 40 service providers in our ecosystem.
The 1,300km cable system will link between landing points in Karachi and Gwadar in Pakistan, and Kalba in the UAE. The cable system will carry four fibre pairs and 40Tbps of total design capacity, providing consumers with faster access to the internet and content worldwide.
The completed Orient Express cable will offer high bandwidth capacity, internet services and transit facilities with low latency, high-quality routes, and peering services to other service providers and enterprise customers.
With the ability to connect to UAE-IX, as the in-bound provider, Orient Express will deliver access to the high-potential content-savvy market with a reliable low latency route to international service and content providers. By peering on the UAE-IX, telco companies can offload customer IP traffic that terminates or originates in networks connected to the UAE-IX.
Speaking on the new cable system, Syed Rukhsar Ul Hassan Bokhari, Chairman of wi-tribe Pakistan LDI (private) Ltd and HB International Investments, added: We are trailblazing new paths towards digital innovation and the construction of the submarine cable system, Orient Express is testament to our efforts in being a telecom pioneer.
The agreement builds on the One Belt, One Road initiative Chinas expansive multibillion dollar investment for development of global trade routes to open up a gateway for onward terrestrial connectivity eastwards through Pakistan to China and westwards to Europe.
