Zajil Telecom, a subsidiary of Kuwait-based Kalaam Telecom Group, has signed an agreement with the Iraqi Informatics and Telecommunication Public Company (ITPC) to build Kalaam Iraq Transit from Gulf Corporation Council (GCC) to Europe via Turkey.
This will provide a much-needed alternative route for large enterprises, hyperscalers and global carriers. “Our diverse route options empower businesses, operators, and hyperscalers to choose the perfect path for seamless connectivity and optimized performance," said Nezar Mohammad Al Saie, Chairman of Kalaam, in the press release.
The new Kalaam Iraq Transit seeks to offer an alternative to the Red Sea which is typically used to provide connectivity between Europe and the GCC countries. Several subsea cables pass through the Red Sea to connect the Middle East region to Europe and other regions.
Unfortunately, the area is also prone to geopolitical turbulence, which makes subsea cables easy targets for vandalism. For instance, three subsea cables passing through the Red Sea were damaged recently, which led to disruption in internet connectivity in several GCC states. According to several media reports, the cables were damaged by Yemen’s Houthi rebels. Yemen’s government had warned in February this year that Houthi rebels are likely to target the undersea cables.
This kind of disruption can have a significant impact on large enterprises and hyperscalers. Even a brief downtime can lead to a massive loss of revenue, not to mention customers. In this context, alternate and diverse routes between Europe and GCC nations is crucial.
The New Cable Transit Point
Iraq is keen to provide an alternate safe route for the cables to pass through. Iraqi Minister Dr Hiyam Al Yasiri mentioned that apart from Kalaam Iraq Transit, other “similar projects” are underway that will make Iraq a “safe land corridor and a competitor to the only international maritime corridor in the region that passes through the Suez Canal.”
“This innovative new route [Kalaam Iraq Transit] addresses geopolitical risks and capacity constraints, providing a more efficient and reliable path for customers with expanded connectivity options,” said the press release.
“This, along with Zajil’s landing license in Kuwait, in collaboration with CITRA [Communication and Information Technology Regulatory Authority], bypasses common chokepoints and avoids maintenance issues challenging other Red Sea cables to ensure consistent performance and prevent data loss for businesses connecting the GCC to Europe,” added the press release.
Kalaam also owns 100% terrestrial KNOT cable system and is also a participant in the EIG subsea network.
The agreement between Zajil and ITPC underscores the growing importance of the Gulf region for hyperscalers and large enterprises. Due to the growing demand for cloud services, there has been a significant increase in the number of data centers being set up by global cloud providers like Google Cloud, Microsoft Azure, and Amazon Web Services (AWS), among others, in the region.
The growth in cloud adoption requires more capacity, which means more subsea cables are likely to land in the region.