Egypt's biggest provider of internet services, Telecom Egypt, to participate in consortium of 16 other companies in building 25,000 km-long high-capacity cable connecting Asia, Europe and Africa A new internet cable linking southeast Asia and Europe will pass through Egypt and involve Telecom Egypt, the country's biggest provider of internet services. The 25,000 km-long cable, dubbed Asia Africa Europe-1 (AAE-1), will span the distance of an international flight from Hong Kong to Paris, along the way connecting Hong Kong, Vietnam, Cambodia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, India, Pakistan, Oman, UAE, Qatar, Yemen, Djibouti, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Greece, Italy and France. Along with Telecom Egypt, who will help with construction on the Egyptian leg of the cable, 16 other companies worldwide will be involved, including Middle East service providers like Etisalat, Omantel and Mobily. Telecom Egypt, a public monopoly of fixed-telephone lines, announced in a press release sent to the Egyptian stock exchange on Tuesday that the "cable will be of a unique high capacity," employing 100 gigabits per second technology, with a designed capacity of more than 40 terabits. PCCW Global, an international operating division of Hong Kong's premier telecommunications service provider, is leading the consortium. The construction and maintenance agreement was signed in Hong Kong on Monday. http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/92892.aspx
