Gulf Bridge International (GBI), the Middle East's first privately-owned submarine cable operator, said it has reached a major milestone with the landing of the first subsea cable in Iraq.

Earlier this week, GBI landed in Al Faw the first subsea cable providing connectivity to Iraq, said a company statement.

With broadband penetration in Iraq currently standing at less than 3 per cent, the connection marks a significant milestone for the nation’s telecom sector, the GBI stated.

GBI’s high-capacity system, which lands with The Iraqi Telecommunications and Post Company (ITPC), allows potential to significantly increase broadband penetration across Iraq while boosting speed and reliability for the end-user.

“This is a historic milestone for GBI and the people of Iraq” remarked Rashid Al Noaimi, GBI chairman.
“GBI’s vision is to facilitate social and economic growth across the region, and as a result of this new connectivity, Iraq will once more be on an even footing with their neighbors in the Gulf," he noted.

Amir Al Bayati, the deputy of ITPC, said, "The GBI cable is a crucial strategic initiative in the industry of subsea cables today using its impressive infrastructure to directly facilitate the development of all the countries connected to it."

"This project is especially important to us as it will feed the ever growing hunger for capacity and connect the country to the rest of the world through the Gulf gateway," he added.

He pointed out that as an emerging market, Iraq had great development potential as a result of the country’s strategic location.

"In parallel with other projects the country is embarking on, this cable will facilitate Iraq’s ability to realize its potential contributing not only to the development of the telecommunications sector in Iraq, but to the region as a whole," he added.

Ahmed Mekky, board member and CEO said, “GBI is the first subsea cable company owned in the Gulf. We care about the region and are backed by investors who care about the region.”

“From a business standpoint, we are excited to connect to a market with such tremendous potential for growth. But beyond this, we are truly pleased to provide industry-leading infrastructure that can contribute to Iraq’s recovery," he added.-TradeArabia News Service