Etisalat has announced its strategic partnership in the construction of the Bay of Bengal (BBG) submarine fiber optic cable along with other industry leaders to enhance intercontinental connectivity and diversity in the region.

Other telecom majors involved are Telekom Malaysia Berhad (Malaysia), Vodafone Group (UK), Omantel (Oman), Reliance JioInfocomm (India) and Dialog Axiata (Sri Lanka).

“Etisalat’s Smarthub is the strategic terminal point for Bay of Bengal (BBG) cable. This reaffirms UAE’s position as the telecommunication hub in the region. We are delighted to be part of this consortium that will enhance our already robust intercontinental capacity to support our customers growing high speed data requirements,” said Ali Amiri, executive vice president, carrier and wholesale services, Etisalat.

The construction of BBG will provide connectivity between the Middle East, South East Asia and South Asia and is a clear indication of the growing demand for bandwidth in the participating countries, a statement from the company said.

The total distance of the cable spans approximately 8,000km and is designed to provide upgradable and transmission facilities by adopting the state-of-the-art 100Gbps technology. This cable system is expected to carry commercial traffic by end of 2014. – TradeArabia News Service