Gulf Bridge International (GBI), the Middle East’s first privately owned submarine cable operator, reportedly has signed an agreement with UAE’s integrated telecom service provider, du.

 

As part of the pact, du will be the landing party for GBI’s new submarine cable. du will be landing this cable in its newly built Fujairah Cable Landing Station.

 

According to GBI officials, the launch of Gulf Bridge International’s cable system will provide telecom operators and other communications companies, both in the region and globally, with greater choice, value, diversity and resilience.

 

The company officials said that the cable system, which will utilize the latest subsea fiber cable technology, will connect all the countries of the Gulf region to each other and provide onward connectivity to Europe and Asia.

 

“It is a great pleasure to land and operate the GBI cable system in such an important country as the United Arab Emirates,” said Hamad Al Mannai, executive vice chairman, Gulf Bridge International, in a statement.

 

Mannai said that the opportunity to partner with du, will enable GBI to address the increased demand for international connectivity that is forecast for the UAE, as it continues to grow and diversify its business base.

 

“The U.A.E. is an important market for GBI. It is one of the most communications intensive countries in the Middle East and geographically important because of its proximity and ease of connectivity to other international sub-sea cables,” said Ahmed Mekky, CEO, GBI.

 

Mekky said that this new landing station, which will connect the UAE to the GBI cable system will improve communications across the region and benefit consumers and businesses alike as the U.A.E.’s economy continue to grow.

 

“Our upcoming world-class new cable-landing facility at Fujairah will add strength to our existing landing facilities and reinforce our position as a hub for international traffic, into and out of the Middle East,” said Osman Sultan, CEO, du.

 

Sultan said that Gulf Bridge International’s cable will add further resilience and diversity to the company’s existing submarine cables, allowing them offer better quality of service to the customers and increase reach in key markets such as Europe and Asia.

Sultan said that as a result, the UAE will benefit from greater connectivity and access to more capacity, that will further stimulate demand for newer bandwidth hungry services like cloud computing and outsourced services.

 

“We look forward to a fruitful partnership with GBI,” said Sultan.