Telecom Egypt is positioning itself as a key link between East and West after doubling the design capacity of a subsea cable link to Europe.
An upgrade to the operator’s TE-North cable, which connects Abu Talat in Egypt with Marseille in France, has increased total capacity to 20Tbps. Telecom Egypt claims the upgraded 3,600km cable offers a cost-effective hub for international peering points that positions the country as a key handler of global IP cloud traffic on the Asia and Africa to Europe route.
“Western peering points meet newer Eastern peering points in Egypt. TE North upgrade presents an enhanced cost point, sheer capacity levels and more resilience which presents the IP cloud with another reason for Egypt being a natural centre for global IP peering and transit,” Mohamed Elnawawy, Telecom Egypt’s senior vice president, states.
Alcatel-Lucent handled the upgrade, supplying its 40G technology for the subsea cable. While the cable currently has just one branch, to Cyprus, the upgrade allows for further branches to be added depending on demand.
Telecom Egypt chief Mohamed Abdelrehim said the technology will boost the user experience for his countrymen, “as more and more Egyptians celebrate their freedom and humanity online,” – a reference to a recent revolution in which the outgoing government shut down the Web in a bid to maintain power.
However, Abdelrehim also conceded the improved subsea cable will boost his firm’s ability to win global business – a key contributor to the firm’s “top and bottom line.”