Telecom Egypt, Grid Telecom to build subsea cable connecting Egypt, Greece

CAIRO - 14 December 2022: Telecom Egypt signed an agreement with Grid Telecom, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Independent Power Transmission Operator (IPTO) in Greece, to build submarine cable connecting Egypt and Greece.

 

The agreement was by Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer at Telecom Egypt, Adel Hamed, with chairman & CEO of Independent Power Transmission Operator (IPTO), Manousos Manousakis.

 

Hamed commented that by collaborating with Grid Telecom, Telecom Egypt will have access to more than 140 connection points in more than 60 countries around the globe. 

 

Egypt's  Information and Communication Technology Minister, Amr Talaat, revealed that, the agreement is a result of 10 months of hard work, starting from his visit to Greece back in February, where he signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between Telecom Egypt and Grid Telecom -one of IPTO’s subsidiaries- to link between the two countries using submarine cables.

 

Earlier this year, Telecom Egypt and Grid Telecom signed a strategic Memorandum of Understanding, which set the ground for the exploration of different connectivity options between Greece and Egypt, through existing and future optical fiber links. This was followed by the signing of a Heads of Agreement to build this new subsea system extending the mutual international reach to neighboring countries.

 

“A new landing point will be established in Eastern Europe on Greek coasts, a huge strategic advantage considering that 90 percent of data traffic between the east and the west pass through Egyptian territories” said Talaat.

 

For his part, chairman & CEO of (IPTO), Manousos Manousakis, said that Egypt is a primary hub for global communications and a meeting point for all cables extending from west to east, adding that this agreement will open the door for further cooperation and splendid opportunities benefiting everyone.

 

This agreement comes in light of Telecom Egypt’s expansion strategy, aiming to reinforce its infrastructure and extend its global network by opening a new gate to Eastern Europe.

 

The new cable is considered one of the shortest tracks for data transformation from the Balkans in Eastern Europe to other destination in Western Europe.