GBI Cable System marine operations begin

DECEMBER 21, 2010 -- Gulf Bridge International (GBI), the Middle East’s first privately owned submarine cable operator, and its cable system supplier, Tyco Electronics Subsea Communications (SubCom) have announced the start of marine operations on the GBI Cable System.

This week, cable manufactured at the SubCom facility in Newington, NH, began loading onto the Reliance Class vessel Responder. In the coming months, the ship will install the high-capacity GBI Cable System that has been designed to provide greater connectivity, reach, and diversity to the entire Gulf region.

Scheduled to launch in 2011, GBI will provide a capacity of 2.56 Tbps. The submarine network will offer double landings in Qatar and Fujairah (UAE) with branched landings in Iraq, Kuwait, The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, and Oman. It also will provide onward connectivity to Europe, Africa, and Asia.

“We are thrilled to mark the commencement of marine operations for the GBI Cable System and truly look forward to the day when the completed system connects the Gulf region to the world, and the world to the Gulf region,” said. Ahmed Mekky, GBI’s CEO. “We remain committed to our ultimate goal of supplying the most advanced broadband carrier services to telecoms operators from around the Gulf and beyond, enabling them to provide their customers with greatly needed capacity, diversity, and choice.”

The GBI Cable System will include 4,750 km of cable, with SubCom deploying several advanced technologies, such as new dual-stage repeaters and wavelength monitoring units. The system will be configured as a self-healing ring in the Gulf, which will provide greater protection from cable cuts than festoon networks. In addition, the system powering will provide for additional layers of redundancy.

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