Reliance Globalcom activates subsea cable landing station in Iraq

Reliance Globalcom, a managed network and communication services provider, has activated the Al-Faw Cable Landing Station (CLS) in Iraq, built in alliance with the Iraqi Telecommunications and Post Company (ITPC).

With this development, Reliance Globalcom is now the first private subsea service provider to activate submarine capacity and directly connect Iraq to the countries in Middle East, Asia, Europe and North America.

Built with an initial design capacity of 680 GBPS with two diverse routes, Reliance Globalcom has initially lit 50 GBPS on each route in order to cater to the existing market demand. The two diverse routes are integrated into the Falcon network, thereby offering a resilient network, it said in a statement.

Considering the low broadband penetration in Iraq, the Falcon landing provides a significant milestone towards establishing direct connectivity from Iraq to the rest of the world, and will help boost the nation's telecom sector.

''We are delighted at achieving this historic milestone and being the first private service provider to activate submarine capacity in Iraq. Falcon offers seamless connectivity globally and will help connect Iraq to the rest of the world through the reach of our global network. This opens a new opportunity for multi-national companies around the world to have a better communication with Iraq and operate from this country,'' Reliance Globalcom Chief Operating Officer Rory Cole said.

''The Middle East is one of the fastest growing regions in the world and Reliance has a very strong presence, with a network reach spread across 11 countries. Our association with ITPC is yet another testimony to our leadership position and commitment to the region in providing network infrastructure that will play a major role in the development of business opportunities in Iraq by leveraging on Reliance Globalcom's network assets globally,'' he added.

The Al-Faw CLS will connect Iraq to all the key Middle East countries – Oman, Iran, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, UAE, Yemen, and Egypt, through Reliance Globalcom's Falcon submarine cable. Falcon's interconnection with FEA ensures further seamless connectivity and diversity to major global destinations on the Reliance Globalcom network including London, New York, Mumbai and Hong Kong.

''This is an extremely important strategic initiative undertaken by ITPC and Reliance Globalcom. This will facilitate the connectivity of all the countries in the Middle East region to Iraq and will also significantly improve the quality and speed as well as the reliability of Iraq's connectivity to the rest of the world,'' Iraq's Minister of Communications Mohammed Allawi said.