Global telcos to build Indo-France cable net

NEW DELHI, INDIA: Bharti Airtel along with eight global telecom leaders today signed a formal construction and maintenance agreement in Rome to build a high-capacity fiber-optic submarine cable that stretches from India to France via the Middle East.

The cable system, known as I-ME-WE (India, Middle East, Western Europe) is the fifth in the series of similar cable systems, which include the SEA-ME-WE series.

Nine telecom companies globally have come together to form the I-ME-WE consortium and are spearheading the cable project.

These include Bharti Airtel (India), Etisalat (UAE), France Telecom (France), Ogero (Lebanon), PTCL (Pakistan), STC (Saudi Arabia), TE (Egypt), TIS Sparkle (Italy) and VSNL (India).

The I-ME-WE cable system is designed to provide 3.84 terabits per second and covers a distance of almost 14,000 kilometers, extending from India right up to France.

The cable system is likely to be available for service by late 2009.