Telecom Egypt, Zain to build digital corridor

Telecom Egypt and Zain Omantel International (ZOI) have partnered to establish what they call a new digital corridor connecting the Mediterranean to the Arabian Sea and Arabian Gulf.

In a joint statement, the companies said this would be a route for data transfer between Asia and Europe.

"The digital corridor will span from the coasts of Oman on the Arabian Sea and the Arabian Gulf to the coast of Egypt on the Mediterranean Sea," the statement added.

The digital corridor will deliver a high-fiber-count combination of terrestrial and subsea connectivity.

The terrestrial segments, spanning Oman, Saudi Arabia and Egypt, promise reliability and protection, said the statement.

"On the other hand, the subsea section, directly linking Saudi Arabia and Egypt through the Red Sea, will feature a high-capacity, repeaterless cable system," it continued.

Furthermore, the infrastructure will be extended to Kuwait, Bahrain, Iraq and Jordan using ZOI's network, collaborating with licensed cable landing parties in each country.

"We are excited to collaborate with ZOI on this strategic project; it's a game-changer in the Eurasia route connectivity landscape," said Telecom Egypt CEO Mohamed Nasr.

Nasr added that Telecom Egypt strives to provide a seamless international connectivity network and increase its diversity layers, without compromising quality, cost or speed.

The digital corridor will run from the coast of Oman on the Arabian Sea and the Arabian Gulf to the coast of Egypt on the Mediterranean Sea. (Source: Telecom Egypt)

ZOI CEO Sohail Qadir said the infrastructure will be expanded to most of ZOI's network footprint to maximize the benefit to the group operations across the region.

"The value that this digital corridor will create is enormous and it will be widely realized in the region and beyond not only from a connectivity point of view but also on technological, commercial and social levels," the ZOI CEO continued.

Telecom Egypt and ZOI claimed that this new network route will have the shortest, enhanced-latency profile, giving hyperscalers, subsea cable providers, carriers and telecom operators improved connectivity options from the Indian Ocean to Europe.

Deals connecting Africa to the world

The Telecom Egypt and ZOI partnership comes at a time when many companies are working towards connecting Africa and the Middle East to the rest of the world either through subsea cables or through fiber links.

In November 2023, Pan-African operator Paratus Group's subsidiary, Fast Congo, signed a long-term agreement with Group Vivendi Africa (GVA) to provide fiber capacity between Muanda and Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).

That deal came on the back of Sparkle, the Italian-headquartered international services provider, signing an agreement with UAE-based Kush Investments firm for the provision of virtual fiber services on the Google-backed Equiano submarine cable connecting Africa to Europe.

Follow Connecting Africa on our new X account @connect__africa to get the latest telecoms and tech news across Africa.

The Telecom Egypt and ZOI partnership comes as the 2Africa subsea cable system is being rolled out.

2Africa will fully encircle the continent from Europe, past South Africa, and will continue counter-clockwise up the Indian Ocean, crossing overland in Egypt and then connecting back to Europe on the Italian, French and Spanish shores.

*Top image is of Telecom Egypt CEO Mohamed Nasr and ZOI CEO Sohail Qadir. (Source: Telecom Egypt)

— Matshepo Sehloho, Associate Editor, Connecting Africa