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Omantel’s submarine cable portfolio swells to 20

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By Business Reporter — MUSCAT:  FEB 26 - As part of its vision to emerge as a ‘Carrier of Carriers’ in the region and beyond, Omantel has built a submarine cable portfolio that now includes as many as 20 submarine cable systems around the world. To date, 13 international submarine cable systems make their landings in the Sultanate through Omantel, effectively positioning Oman as an attractive international hub in the region, according to the operator.


“Omantel stands out as one of the prominent and most competitive wholesale telecommunication providers in the Middle East region. We are one of the leading companies in the field of submarine cable networks, and a key participant in several submarine cables, complemented by direct terrestrial links, connecting Asia, Europe and America passing through Oman,” the majority state-owned telecom services provider said in a report.


We have 13 international submarine cable landings through Omantel in the Sultanate of Oman and making Oman has one of the attractive international hub in the region and our submarine cable portfolio has grown to nearly 20 submarine cable systems around the world.


Last year, Omantel celebrated the milestone landing of the Asia Africa Europe-1 (AAE-1) submarine cable system in Oman. AAE-1 is the third longest submarine cable in the world spanning approximately 25,000 km, and connecting 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.


Omantel recently became the first GCC operator to land a submarine cable in Europe following the landing of the AAE-1 cable in the southern French city of Marseille.


The operator also joined a consortium of several East African telecom providers to lay the Gulf to Africa (G2A) undersea fibre-optic cable – a move that reflected Omantel’s planned expansion into East Africa.


The Bay of Bengal Gateway (BBG) cable system, the first cable system in the world connecting Singapore directly with the Middle East (in Oman with Omantel), became operational during 2016. The BBG system allows Omantel to uniquely offer unchallenged quality between Frankfurt and Singapore.


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 in Central Asiaband Russia to Frankfurt avoiding heavily congested existing cable systems on the route between Asia and Europe, it added.


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