Mobily launches fiber network to connect Mideast, Europe

Etihad Etisalat Co. (Mobily) said on Sunday that it has launched commercial operations of its Regional Cable Network (RCN), a high-capacity terrestrial fiber network that will eventually connect the Middle East and Europe.

The cable will run from Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates to Riyadh and pass through Amman during the project’s initial phase, the company said in a statement.

The cable spans 5,000 kilometers and provides high capacities of data reaching 1.2 terabyte per second and from 10 gigabyte duplicates as per Ethernet Protocol. It also allows access to all sites along the track of the cable, even in the event of network disruptions.

A consortium of several telecom operators such as Mobily, the UAE’s Etisalat Group, Zain Jordan, Turkcell Super Online, Orange Jordan, and Syria Telecommunication had earlier signed a multi-operator agreement to initiate the RCN project.

The cable will be extended to Turkey as soon as political and social unrest settles down in Syria.

The network’s objective is to build up an alternative regional internet infrastructure that is economical, as well as high-capacity.