EIG telecom system on verge of operation

NEW DELHI, INDIA: The Europe-India Gateway (EIG), said to be one of the most advanced cable submarine systems in the world, is on the verge of becoming operational with 11,300 km of its 15,000 km delivered to telecom operators.

The 16-members of the consortium responsible for overseeing the building of the cable system - including telcom giant Bharti Airtel, Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd, Omantel and Verizon - now can begin to activate their individual portions of the system that will enhance capacity from Europe to the Middle East, Africa and India.

The EIG will provide diversity in broadband traffic, which currently relies on traditional routes from Europe to India.

The EIG routes which have been delivered are London to Bude (Britain), Bude-Portugal-Gibraltar-Monaco-Libya, Monaco-Marseille and Saudi Arabia-Djibouti-Oman-United Arab Emirates-India.

The only remaining segment of the EIG is in Egypt, where there are two landing sites.

Once fully activated, the EIG will become the first direct high-bandwidth optical fiber system from Britain to India.

The cable suppliers are Alcatel-Lucent and Tyco Electronics Subsea Communications.