Press Release
Marking a major step towards the completion of a technological and global communications breakthrough, Ooredoo became the only operator in the Sultanate to conclude the landing of the Southeast-Middle East-Western Europe 5 (SEA-ME-WE 5) submarine cable system. Installed at its base station in Qalhat in the Governorate of Ash Sharqiyah South, the 20,000 kilometer cable is being developed as a multi-regional data superhighway that will substantially improve data transmission across affected regions.
The SEA-ME-WE 5 submarine cable has been designed with the latest upgradable 100Gbps technology, enabling an initial system capacity of 24Tbps per second on 3 fibre pairs. This state-of-the-art system will cater to the quadrupling of bandwidth demand for intensive applications, such as enterprise data exchange, internet TV and online gaming between Europe and Asia.
Jim Maxwell, Ooredoo Chief Legal, Regulatory and Wholesale Officer, said, “The SEA ME WE 5 is a step towards realising the future of international cable systems in terms of capacity, diversity and network access for our valued customers. We believe that with SEA ME WE 5 state-of-the-art technology, connectivity with the rest of the world will become a reality, contributing to the social and economic progress and integration of all included regions.”
The new SEA-ME-WE 5 cable system will link East Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Europe, providing the lowest latency and highest data rates of any fibre optic system. Construction of the intercontinental undersea cable began in September 2014 and is due to be completed by the end of this year. The project is being developed through a collaboration of 19 leading global players from around the world.
