Omantel signs agreement to extend submarine cable to Omani coasts

JULY 21, 2008 -- Oman Telecommunications Company (Omantel) and Middle East and North Africa Company (MENA) of Egypt have recently signed an agreement on the landing of a submarine fiber-optic cable on the Omani coasts to enhance international telecommunications traffic between the Sultanate of Oman and the rest of the world.

Dr. Mohammed Bin Ali Al-Wohaibi, CEO of Omantel, signed the agreement on behalf of Omantel, while Dr. Nagi Anis, director of Middle East and North Africa Cable Project, signed the agreement on behalf of MENA Company.

According to Al-Wohaibi, the agreement introduces huge capacities for submarine cables in the Sultanate and provides alternative lines for international telecom networks as well as upgradable transmission facilities in support of Internet, e-commerce, video, data, and voice traffic.

Al-Wohaibi says that Omantel constantly seeks to make the Sultanate an important hub for international telecom traffic through submarine networking, which guarantees uninterrupted telecom traffic between the Sultanate and world countries on one hand and between world countries themselves on the other. This is made possible thanks to the strategic location of the Sultanate. As such, many companies endeavor to exploit the Sultanate's secure location between the East and the West to facilitate international telecom traffic.

Omantel's CEO also notes that the MENA Cable Project, which is implemented by the Middle East and North Africa Company, an affiliate of Orascom Telecom, is vital for the telecom sector as a whole because it passes through many countries besides the Sultanate of Oman, including Mazara in Sicily, Italy; Crete in Greece; Alexandria and Suez in Egypt; Jeddah in Saudi Arabia; and India.

The cable landing point will be executed in Wilayat Al Seeb where the Omantel Submarine Cables Center is located. This center is used as the main hub for submarine fiber-optic cables landing in the Sultanate.

According to Al-Wohaibi, the total cost of the MENA Cable project is about $400 million. The 8,000-km cable, which will provide a total capacity of 5.7 Tbits, will arrive at Wilayat Al Seeb during the third quarter of 2009.

Omantel recently jointed 15 international telecom companies in signing the Europe-India Gateway project for the building of an international broadband fiber-optic submarine cable extending from the United Kingdom to India and passing through the Sultanate of Oman, among other countries. The $700 million EIG project will enhance diversity in the service of these fast growing regions in thetelecom sector and investment environment.

The submarine cable system is designed to provide a range of communications up to 2.88 Tbits/sec DWDM technology to provide upgradeable transmission facilities that support Internet, e-commerce, video, data, and voice traffic.

Oman Telecommunications Company (Omantel) is the sole integrated telecommunications services provider in Oman. The Sultanate of Oman, through its strategic location on the crossroad of the Gulf, Middle East, and Indian subcontinent has become a major landing point for global cable connections, including FLAG (Falcon), SMW3, and TWA1. In addition, Omantel has established direct links with its adjacent neighbors in the region. Omantel says it is currently working on additional cable landings to extend its reach to all the continents.

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