News
Telecom Egypt, Egypt’s first integrated telecom operator and one of the largest subsea cables operators in the region, and Aqua Comms, a leading provider of global subsea connectivity services, announced today the signature of a crossing and landing agreement for the Europe Middle-East India Connect 1 (EMIC-1) subsea cable in Egypt.
Under this agreement, Telecom Egypt will provide EMIC-1, which is a new intercontinental subsea cable and terrestrial fibre system, a seamless optical path between East Africa, Asia, and Europe. This is the first modern cable along this route, connecting up to 3 billion people to the internet and accommodating for the growing demand for data of the world’s fastest growing regions. EMIC-1 ties into D9’s (the owner of Aqua Comms) purpose, to improve connectivity around the world and bridge the digital divide.
EMIC-1 will land in Ras Ghareb on the Red Sea, and Port Said on the Mediterranean Sea side. The two landing stations are connected over two diverse terrestrial routes, deploying next-generation of fibre optics. The new routes are adjacent to the Suez Canal, between Suez and Port Said. Additionally, this crossing will also include a third new marine path, the Red Sea Festoon, that will link the Ras Ghareb and Suez landing stations with an option of the Suez Canal Route (a.k.a. the Al Morshedeen route), linking Port Said and Suez on the bank of the Suez Canal, offering a new level of resilience and diversity to the crossing solution.
The Managing Director and CEO of Telecom Egypt, Adel Hamed, commented:
“We are pleased to offer Aqua Comms a seamless trans-Egypt crossing for their new cable. For years, we have established tangible steps to revamp our international infrastructure and increase our assets’ geodiversity to keep pace with the rising global demand for large bandwidth and global reach. We believe that EMIC-1 will be a valuable addition to the subsea cables landing in Egypt.”
Nigel Bayliff, CEO of Aqua Comms, said:
“We are delighted to work with Telecom Egypt to deliver a highly resilient and innovative solution that will be a critical part of our new EMIC-1 system. This new system will connect the key hubs in Europe of Genoa, Marseille and Barcelona with both Salalah, Oman and Mumbai, India serving these high-growth markets with best-in-class connectivity services.”
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About Aqua Comms:
Aqua Comms is a leading provider of global subsea connectivity services delivered through an extensive portfolio of owned and operated subsea systems. Aqua Comms offers connectivity networking solutions including managed capacity services, spectrum and dark fibre to the global content, cloud and carrier markets.
In April 2021, Aqua Comms DAC was acquired by Digital 9 Infrastructure plc (D9), a London Stock Exchange listed fund with ticker DGI9, which is managed by Triple Point Investment Management’s Digital Infrastructure team.
To learn more about Aqua Comms and its portfolio of connectivity networking solutions visit www.aquacomms.com.
About D9:
D9 invests in the infrastructure of the internet that underpins the world’s digital economy: digital infrastructure. The number 9 in Digital 9 Infrastructure comes from the UN Sustainable Development Goal 9, which focuses the fund on investments that increase connectivity globally and improve the sustainability of digital infrastructure.
D9 invests in assets that are typically scalable platforms in the US$ 400 billion a year digital infrastructure sector. Since its launch in March 2021, D9 has raised funding of over US$ 1.5 billion and invested in subsea fibre connectivity, sustainable data centres and wireless networks:
Triple Point’s Digital Infrastructure team has over US$ 300 billion in digital infrastructure transaction experience and in-depth relationships across global tech and global telecoms companies.
For more information, please visit www.d9infrastructure.com.
About Telecom Egypt
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. Aside from its mobile operation “WE”, the company owns a 45% stake in Vodafone Egypt. Telecom Egypt’s shares and GDRs (Ticker: ETEL.CA; TEEG.LN) are traded on The Egyptian Exchange and the London Stock Exchange. Please refer to Telecom Egypt’s full financial disclosure on ir.te.eg
