Oman Telecommunications Co (Omantel) said on Sunday an undersea cable that passes through several European and Middle Eastern cities would be extended to its coast next year to improve its data services.

Omantel and Orascom Telecom affiliate Middle East and North Africa Co (Mena) signed a deal to extend the 8,000-km (4,971 miles) to the Gulf state, Omantel said in a statement on the bourse website.

The total cost of the project is about $400 million, it said, without specifying how much it would invest.

The cable is due to arrive at Wilayat al-Seeb in the third quarter of 2009 and "would provide great services for international telecommunications traffic, especially the internet, through fiber optics in case of any cable cutoffs," Omantel said.

Already passing through cities in Italy, Greece, Egypt and Saudi Arabia, the undersea cable will provide a total capacity of 5.7 terra bets, Omantel added.

Omantel is part of a 16-company consortium that will build a $700 millon undersea cable system connecting Europe, the Middle East and India. - Reuters