New submarine cable to link Malta to Italy

FEBRUARY 19, 2008 -- Next-generation Pan-European network operator Interoute (search for Interoute) and Malta's quad-play telecom provider GO have signed an agreement to deploy a second submarine cable, linking Malta to Italy and the rest of the continent through Interoute's pan-European network. The project, known as 'GO 1 Mediterranean Cable System,' will be completed this autumn and will increase diversity, resiliency, and international broadband connectivity to meet Malta's expanding telecommunications needs. 

The cable will be 290-km long with four fiber pairs and will land in Mazara del Vallo in Italy. Made possible through the Emirates International Telecommunications (EIT)/Dubai partnership, the new cable will increase Malta's existing available capacity by nine times. GO says this expansion will help the country to realize its vision of becoming a center of excellence in Information and Communications Technology (ICT) and an ICT hub in the Mediterranean. 

GO Chairman Sonny Portelli says the company will be implementing the new submarine cable system to offer further resiliency to its existing international links by having a completely diverse route.

"The new submarine cable will augment GO's international capacity and cater for projected demands for broadband services in Malta, which will increase in the near future," Portelli adds. "Moreover, it will give GO the possibility to procure broadband capacity from Interoute." 

For Interoute, this project is another building block in the network expansion strategy it started in 2004. Since then, the operator says it has grown its next-generation network from the business centers of Europe into the growing markets of the southern Mediterranean, Southwest Asia, Middle East, and North Africa.  

As the demand for bandwidth and advanced services continues to explode--driven by the Internet economy and spiraling broadband consumption--operators like Interoute, which already owns a fiber-optic infrastructure, are ideally positioned to be able to meet future bandwidth demand.

"Interoute is proud to be part of this forward thinking venture, which will have a significant impact for Malta and its businesses," reports Gareth Williams, CEO of Interoute. "With this cable, GO and Interoute will open up opportunities for Malta in the European Union, North America, the Middle East, and beyond. It will physically link Malta directly into Interoute's fiber-optic network, Europe's largest communications platform, making access to London, Paris, Amsterdam, and Rome almost instantaneous," he says.

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