BANGALORE, INDIA: Bharti Airtel has joined 15 other telecommunications companies to build the first direct, high-bandwidth optical-fiber submarine cable system from the UK to India.
The companies have signed a construction and maintenance agreement (C&MA) to build the $700-million Europe India Gateway (EIG) cable system.
Besides Airtel, other companies who are part of the consortium are AT&T, BT, Cable &Wireless, Djibouti Telecom, Du, Gibtelecom, IAM, Libyan Post, Telecom and Information Technology Company, MTN Group Ltd, Omantel, PT Comunicacoes, Saudi Telecom Company, Telecom Egypt, Telkom SA Ltd and Verizon Business.
To be operational in the second quarter of 2010, the EIG cable system is a 15,000-kilometer (9,000-mile) system that will connect three continents.
Thirteen landings are planned in the UK, Portugal, Gibraltar, Morocco, Monaco, France, Libya, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Djibouti, Oman, United Arab Emirates and India.
The EIG cable system will also provide seamless interconnection with other major cable systems connecting Europe, Africa, Asia and North America.
The EIG Consortium also signed a supply contract with Alcatel-Lucent and Tyco Telecommunications for the cable system's construction.