Telecom Egypt, Egypt's first integrated telecom operator and one of the largest subsea cable operators in the region, and'Zain Omantel International (ZOI),'the Middle East’s premier international wholesale powerhouse'with access to more than 20 international subsea cables in'the'region,'are joining forces to establish a unique digital corridor. This corridor will seamlessly connect the Mediterranean Sea to the Arabian Sea and'Arabian'Gulf, creating an unprecedented Eurasian data highway.
The'innovative'infrastructure will extend from'Oman's Arabian Sea'and Gulf'shores'to'Egypt's Mediterranean coastline, employing a high'fiber'count,'cutting-edge blend of terrestrial and subsea segments.'The'terrestrial'segments, spanning'Oman,'Saudi'Arabia and Egypt, promise unparalleled reliability and protection.'On the other hand,'the subsea section,'directly'linking'Saudi Arabia'and'Egypt'through the Red Sea, will feature a high-capacity, repeaterless cable system.
This route design'will'provide'Telecom Egypt and ZOI's partners and customers with'the best'resiliency'and reliability'for'their'end-to-end'solution.'Furthermore,'the infrastructure will be extended to'Kuwait, Bahrain, Iraq and Jordan'through ZOI's network and collaboration with the licensed cable landing parties in each country.
This collaboration'also'offers a'revolutionary'opportunity'for subsea cable owners. By connecting'to this'open access system, they can'significantly reduce'their'construction'costs'and greatly'enhance'latency, resilience, and'market response times.'Telecom Egypt will'develop'new infrastructure across Egypt from'the'Red'Sea'to'the'Mediterranean'and onwards to Europe,'complemented by ZOI's robust'infrastructure across'the Middle East.'This'new network'route'will have'the shortest,'enhanced latency profile,'giving'hyperscalers, subsea cable providers, carriers and telecom operators improved'connectivity'options'from the Indian Ocean to Europe.
Mohamed Nasr, Managing Director and'CEO'at Telecom Egypt, commented:·We are'excited to collaborate'with ZOI on this strategic project; it's'a game-changer in the'Eurasia route'connectivity landscape.'As we look for'innovative ways to'better'serve our customers,'we'will consistently strive'to'provide a seamless'international connectivity network'and increase our diversity layers,'without'compromising quality, cost'or'speed. We will do this by'leveraging'on'both'Telecom Egypt's established history in'the'subsea cables arena and'its'experienced and competent team.'
Sohail Qadir,'CEO'at ZOI, commented:·We are'delighted to partner with'Telecom Egypt on such a groundbreaking project. ZOI was created to revolutionize the wholesale telecom scene and this is an example of what the future holds.'We are facilitating the landing of subsea connections through our shareholders such as Omantel and Zain KSA being the licensees'in those jurisdictions. This'one-of-a-kind'infrastructure'will be expanded to most of ZOI's network footprint'to maximize the benefit to our'group'operations'across the region.'The value that this digital corridor will create is enormous and it will be widely realized in the region and beyond not only from a connectivity point of view, but also on technological, commercial and social levels.'
Zain Omantel International (ZOI) is the Middle East's premier wholesale powerhouse serving regional operators, international carriers, global hyperscalers and cloud providers seeking services within the region and beyond. The first-of-its-kind'joint venture signifies a substantial advancement in the telecommunications industry and is poised to become a global powerhouse due to Zain’s extensive regional presence and success in the retail and digital arenas, combined with Omantel's exceptional wholesale capabilities and comprehensive international subsea and terrestrial networks. ZOI manages all international wholesale requirements of Zain and Omantel operations in eight countries, serving over 55 million customers.
Telecom Egypt is the first integrated telecom operator in Egypt providing all telecom services to its customers including fixed and mobile voice and data services. Telecom Egypt has a long history serving Egyptian customers for over 160 years maintaining a leadership position in the Egyptian telecom market by offering its enterprise and consumer customers the most advanced technology, reliable infrastructure solutions and the widest network of submarine cables.
