Seven telecoms to build Middle East’s longest cable network

By Mohammad Ghazal

AMMAN – Jordan is set to attract more investments in the ICT sector thanks to a regional cable network to be operational before the end of 2011, according to telecom experts.

The $500 million regional cable network (RCN) project, to be implemented by seven ICT operators from Jordan, Turkey, Syria, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), entails the construction of the Middle East’s longest redundant terrestrial communications infrastructure along a 7,750-kilometre round trip route, telecom experts said Monday.

The RCN project will extend from the city of Fujairah in the UAE to Istanbul in Turkey and then to Europe and will serve as a gateway to the Internet for two billion people, according to the consortium of the seven companies.

The consortium includes Etisalat (UAE), Mobily (Saudi Arabia), Jordan Telecom/Orange Jordan, Mada-Zain Partnership (Jordan), Syrian Telecommunications Establishment (Syria), and Superonline (Turkey).

Of the total length of the cable, about 10 per cent will be inside the Kingdom’s borders.

“The project is a strategic step as it will help make Jordan an ICT hub. Global ICT companies will be encouraged to open their regional offices in Jordan as the new cables increases Jordan’s capacity and redundancy,” Abdul Malek Al Jaber, Zain Jordan’s CEO, said in a meeting with the press Monday.

Al Jaber said having an additional cable in Jordan with high capacity helps attracts investments and supports the call centres sector.

Minister of Information and Communications Technology Marwan Juma agreed, saying : “The project will increase the country’s current ICT capacity by fourfold, something that makes Jordan a regional centre for mega-ICT companies.”

The telecom experts added that the new cable will help “reduce prices and Internet disruptions for internet users.”

Nayla Khawam, the chief executive officer of Jordan Telecom Group, said by having an additional cable linking the east with the west via Jordan, there will be more competition and thus a reduction in prices.

Charles Hage, president executive of Mada, remarked that the terrestrial cable can also be fixed within a few hours in case of some cuts, unlike the submarine cables that take longer to be repaired.

“”The project entails a two-route cable, which means less congestions and thus better services for customers. There will be more competition when the RCN is operational and prices are likely to go down,” he elaborated.

jordantimes