Omantel confirms landing of submarine cable system

09/06/2016 07:03 AST

Oman Telecommucations Company (Omantel) celebrated the milestone landing of the Asia Africa Europe-1 (AAE-1) submarine cable system in Oman at a ceremony on Monday in the Al Bustan area of Muscat.

The third longest submarine cable in the world spanning approximately 25,000 kilometres, the AAE-1 is one of the first unique cable systems to connect 18 countries across Asia, Africa and Europe, all via Oman. The cable will provide an alternative and low latency short route between the east and the west while covering 50 per cent of the world’s population.

Commenting on the historic achievement for the AAE-1 cable landing, Omantel CEO Talal Al Mamari said, “Today we are actualising yet another embodiment of our new strategy Omantel 3.0 witnessing the milestone landing of the AAE-1 cable in Oman. As one of the longest submarine cables in the world, this achievement for Omantel and the Sultanate is undoubtedly making us feel proud.”

“The AAE-1 cable represents another step in enhancing our position as a truly international telecommunications player. Already over half of the international submarine cables that connect to the Arabian Gulf are connected through Omantel here in Oman. In the coming years, further extending our reach internationally is a key focus for Omantel, and a central goal of our 3.0 transformation strategy,” he added.

Omantel’s extensive international network will provide additional protection and diversity to the AAE-1 cable system through other systems like EPEG, which is another major high-capacity system consisting of redundant undersea cables to Iran and onwards terrestrial cable all the way via Azerbaijan and Russia to Frankfurt avoiding existing heavily congested cable systems and crowded bottlenecks on the route between Asia and Europe. The cable will provide additional capacity and diversity for telecommunications capabilities in Oman.

“Throughout history Oman has always been a gateway to the region, facilitating trade and commerce from East to West and West to East. At Omantel, we aim to continue our nation’s proud tradition, this time facilitating the transfer of information, in this new digital age,” continued Talal Al Mamari.

Recently, Omantel landed the AAE-1 cable in the southern French city of Marseille, becoming the first GCC operator to land a submarine cable in Europe. Earlier this year the Company also joined in a consortium with several East African telecommunications providers to lay the Gulf to Africa (G2A) undersea fibre-optic cable. The move represented the first phase of Omantel’s planned expansion into East Africa.

In the international wholesale arena, Omantel is considered one of the most prominent and competitive wholesale telecommunication providers in the Middle East. In addition, it is one of the leading companies in the field of undersea cable networks and a key participant in several submarine cables, complemented by direct terrestrial links, which link Asia, Europe and America passing through Oman to meet the growing international capacity requirements of customers locally and internationally, thereby sustaining the Company’s leading position among its competitors. Omantel’s wholesale strategy is to be a carrier of carriers and to be the link between the East and the West for the region and beyond.

Times of Oman