The PCCW-led Peace subsea cable has landed in Bizerte, Tunisia.
“Today, we celebrate a historic achievement with the arrival of the submarine cable "Ifriqya" in Bizerte, connecting Tunisia to Europe. With a robust capacity of up to 3Tbps, this cable marks a significant step in strengthening our international connectivity,” Ooredoo Tunisie said on LinkedIn. “This breakthrough underscores our commitment to technological innovation. Get ready for improved diversity and connectivity options when the cable goes live in March 2024!”
The cable – known as Ifriqya by local operator Ooredoo – was landed by Orange’s CS Teliri, according to industry observer Philippe Devaux.
The Huawei-made Peace cable initially launched in 2022, linking Marseilles in France to Egypt. Extensions to Pakistan and Kenya were completed in 2022, and to Singapore late last year.
Peace is operated by Hong Kong-based telecoms company PCCW Global and is 15,000km long (9,320m). The cable has a capacity of up to 96Tbps for the Pakistan-Egypt segment, and even more at 192Tbps for the Mediterranean segment from Egypt to France.
Bizerte is currently the landing point for the SeaMeWe-4 cable. A branch of the Medusa cable is also set to land in the city in partnership with Orange.
Tunisia’s other landing point is in Kelibia, which lands the Didon (owned by Orange and Ooredoo), Hannibal, and Trapani-Kelibia cable systems. All three cross the Strait of Sicily to land at Mazara del Vallo on the Italian island of Sicily.
In other recent subsea cable news:
- Indonesia's Telin, KT of South Korea, and an unnamed Japanese partner have agreed to build a new subsea cable system to connect South Korea, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, and Vietnam.
The ALPHA (Asia Link for Advanced Performance of High-Speed Access) cable will feature at least eight fiber pairs, with 18 Tbps per fiber pair, for a minimum design capacity of 144 Tbps. The system is expected to be ready for service by Q1 2027.
- Telecom Egypt and NaiTel are to build a subsea cable connecting Egypt to Jordan. The cable will be known as the Coral Bridge system and connect Taba in Egypt to Aqaba in Jordan, a distance of around 13km. The 1998 Taba-Aqaba cable from the National Electric Power Company of Jordan currently runs the same route. It will land in the Aqaba Digital Hub data center in Jordan.
– Vanuatu telco Prima is to establish the first commercial telecoms system with SMART repeaters. The cable, developed in partnership with ASN and OMS, will run from Port Vila in Vanuatu to Lifou in New Caledonia. Set to go live in 2026, four Climate Change Nodes (CC Nodes) within the cable system will offer real-time monitoring of seismic activities and efficient tsunami detection.
- Telecom Egypt and Hungary’s 4iG have formally established a joint venture to build their proposed express subsea cable between Albania and Egypt. The two companies announced plans for the cable in October 2023.
- Moroccan telco Inwi has partnered for the Medusa cable.
- Vietnam is to invest in two to four more international telecommunications cables to take the country’s cable capacity to 60Tbps by 2025. Precise details weren't shared, but locations with existing landing stations would be prioritized. Existing cables would also be upgraded.
