Egypt to extend submarine fiber optic cable with Central Europe, Balkans

CAIRO – 1 February 2024: Telecom Egypt and Hungary's 4IG signed Thursday in Budapest an agreement to extend a submarine fiber optic cable in the Mediterranean between Egypt and Albania within the former's plan to introduce five new international submarine cables in collaboration with international partners adding to the existing 14.

The cable will be connected to Western Europe through ground cables as well as to some Mediterranean countries, such as Italy, Libya, Cyprus and Greece, through other submarine cables.

On the Egyptian side, the cable with Albania will be connected to submarine cables in the Red Sea through international ground cables; of which, Egypt houses 10. On the Albanian side, the cable will be connected, through ground ones, to a main data center in Germany's Frankfort as well as other destinations in Central Europe and the Balkans such as Sofia, Vienna, and Budapest.

Last week, Telecom Egypt and Naitel Jordan signed a cooperation agreement to establish a submarine fiber optic cable connecting Egypt and Jordan and that will be dubbed "Coral Bridge."

The cable will extend between Jordan's Aqaba and Egypt's Taba, and is aimed at fulfilling increasing demand on AI applications and data centers, capitalizing on the short distance between its two landing points.

The location of the cable is also outstanding given that Egypt is a major crossing between the East and the West, while Jordan is a main doorway to the Levant, Iraq, Arab Gulf, and the intersection between Asia and Europe.