GBI seals deal with IPTC to land submarine cable

Middle Eastern submarine cable operator Gulf Bridge International (GBI) has signed an agreement with Iraqi telecoms service provider Iraq Telecommunications and Post Company (IPTC) to establish a landing site for the former’s fibre-optic submarine cable system in Iraq, AMEinfo reports. The network will connect the Gulf region states in a ‘Gulf Ring system’, as well as providing onward telecoms connectivity to the Far East and Europe. The cable system allows for the option to upgrade to a true 64x40Gbps per fibre pair system, enabling real time communications for operators and major industries. ‘The landing of GBI's new undersea telecommunications cable is a historic event, as it is the first cable to be landed in Iraq,’ commented GBI’s chairman, Rashid Al-Noaimi, adding, ‘This step will certainly improve Iraqi economic performance especially in the telecommunication sector, motivate the development process and facilitate various business investments.’