Du and GBI partner in submarine cable deal

Gulf Bridge International (GBI), the Middle East’s first privately-owned submarine cable operator and Du have signed an agreement whereby the UAE operator will be the landing party for GBI’s new submarine cable through Du’s newly built Fujairah Cable Landing Station.

Scheduled to launch in 2011 and designed to operate for up to 25 years, the GBI cable system will connect all the countries of the Gulf region with each other and provide onward connectivity to Europe and Asia.

The cable system has a capacity of up to five terabits per second on certain cable sections, allowing the system to meet the rapid growth in demand that has been forecast for traffic originating and terminating in the Gulf.

Other partners of the GBI Cable System include the Iraqi Telecom and Post Company, Vodafone Qatar and Saudi Arabia’s Integrated Telecom Company (ITC).