Telecom Egypt’s 40 gigabit system operational

Telecom Egypt has started operations of its TE-North cable system across the Mediterranean. The 3,600 kilometre system is the first Mediterranean cable network operating at 40 gigabits a second. The operator used Alcatel-Lucent’s technology for the cable network.

The system links Abu Talat in Egypt to Marseille in France, with a branch to Pentaskhinos, Cyprus. The system also encompasses other branching units for more expansions in the Mediterranean basin. Alcatel-Lucent employed the latest 1620 Light Manager product for the upgrade.
The new technology significantly bolsters the system’s original design capacity from 10 terabits a second to more 20 terabits a second. This will help Egypt keep up with the growing demand, will improve the service efficiency toward global operators.

Mohamed Elnawawy, senior vice president at Telecom Egypt, said: “Western peering points meet newer eastern peering points in Egypt. The TE-North upgrade presents an enhanced cost point, sheer capacity levels and more resilience which presents the IP cloud with another reason for Egypt being a natural centre for global IP peering and transit.” GTB