Singapore – September 28, 2023. Telecom Egypt, Egypt’s first integrated telecom operator and one of the largest subsea cables operators in the region, and the Medusa Submarine Cable System, a neutral and independent Mediterranean submarine infrastructure operator, have signed an agreement to extend Medusa to the Red Sea. The 8,760 km long submarine cable, which will land in the Egyptian city of Port Said by the end of 2025, will be connected to the Red Sea landing stations of Suez, Zafarana, and Ras Ghareb through Telecom Egypt’s extensive terrestrial crossing network.
The companies’ CEOs signed the agreement during the Submarine Networks World event currently taking place in Singapore. The new connection will enable direct access of all the Medusa Mediterranean landings in Europe and North Africa to the Red Sea. Arriving at these geographically diverse Egyptian-landing points will present new connection points for the Medusa submarine cable.
In March 2022, Telecom Egypt and AFR-IX telecom signed an initial agreement to land Medusa at the Port Said station. This marked a significant step, as Medusa will connect ten countries in Africa and Europe – Portugal, Morocco, Spain, France, Algeria, Tunisia, Italy, Greece, Cyprus and Egypt – through its landing points. The cable will become operational in the Western Mediterranean in 2025.
With segments housing up to 24 fibre pairs capable of transmitting 20 Tbit/s per fibre pair, Medusa’s landing at Egypt’s coast by the end of 2025 will be a milestone that further enhances the country’s position as a hub and strengthens its status as a strategic connection point between Asia, Africa and Europe. Egypt currently has 14 subsea cable systems, 10 landing stations and 10 terrestrial routes crossing the country, connecting the Red Sea and the Mediterranean Sea.
Telecom Egypt is working on developing the geographic diversity of the international submarine cables infrastructure on several levels, including establishing landing stations and new routes for crossing subsea cables, as well as increasing its investments in new cable systems and cutting-edge solutions to keep pace with the increasing global demand for international connectivity. Telecom Egypt continually makes significant investments in its global infrastructure to provide the shortest and most reliable routes for its partners worldwide. With a well-established history in the subsea cable industry and a team of top-notch professionals, Telecom Egypt is the subsea cable deployment partner-of-choice for more than 160 major subsea cable players.
