The consortium will collaborate on the Asia-Africa-Europe-2 (AAE-2) subsea cable system, adding spurs to connect more destinations and integrating it with terrestrial routes
A consortium of four subsea cable operators, PCCW Global, Sparkle, Telecom Egypt and Zain Omantel International (ZOI) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to collaborate on the construction of the Asia-Africa-Europe-2 (AAE-2) subsea cable system.
The project aims to connect Hong Kong and Singapore to Italy “traversing secure and high-capacity terrestrial corridors across Thailand, the Arabian Peninsula, and Egypt,” according to the press statement. “It is planned to strategically deliver unprecedented capacity and foster seamless, reliable connectivity across the three continents.”
Extensions to reach more destinations
AAE-2 will have extensions to additional key destinations across its route to support the growing demands of cloud services, content delivery and digital transformation initiatives across the regions.
It is designed to deliver a geographical diverse, resilient, and high-performance route for international traffic by integrating subsea and terrestrial infrastructure/
It will build on the legacy of the AAE-1 cable, incorporating “the most advanced technological innovations offering unprecedented bandwidth capacity” to serve the tremendous traffic needs across Asia, Africa and Europe.
Building on foundations
Enrico Bagnasco, Chief Executive Officer of Sparkle, commented, “The AAE-2 cable system is an innovative project perfectly in line with Sparkle’s long-term strategy to strengthen the Asia-Africa-Europe corridor by enhancing route diversity and ensuring the highest levels of network resilience. In recent years, we have invested in new submarine systems and established advanced landing hubs along this strategic route, reinforcing our commitment to reliable global connectivity.
“Among the key initiatives, the Blue & Raman submarine cable systems – linking Italy to India through an innovative path – together with the strengthening of the Sicily Hub in Palermo and the hub in Chania as well as the creation of a brand new scalable landing platform in Genoa.
“With AAE-2, we are taking a further step forward, contributing to the creation of a distinctive infrastructure that combines terrestrial and subsea solutions to deliver secure, high-capacity, and low-latency connectivity in support of the digital transformation of businesses and communities worldwide”
Sohail Qadir, Chief Executive Officer of ZOI, added, “Our cooperation brings together advanced infrastructure, diverse terrestrial routes and AI-ready capacity. AAE-2 will strengthen global traffic flows, empower emerging markets and unlock new avenues for economic growth across the region and beyond.”
