Work ongoing to link Kuwait to longest underwater cable – Better Internet services eyed

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KUWAIT CITY, June 20: The Communications and Information Technology Regulatory Authority (CITRA) is currently working on establishing an international telecommunication access infrastructure by linking with one of the longest underwater cables in the world, reports Al-Qabas daily.

According to informed sources, the cables, which will be implemented through a consortium of companies, will pass through the Gulf countries to South Africa, and then link with the international communication traffic, thus becoming the longest global marine cables. Kuwait is currently connected to two marine cables that link it to international telecommunications traffic.

However, one of the cables is disabled due to frequent interruption and inefficiency as a result of its old infrastructure. The establishment of a new underwater cable would increase the telecommunications traffic to and from the global internet so that local companies can provide Internet services to the public with higher efficiency. The granting of a license to a company to establish a free international communications infrastructure in Kuwait will contribute to increasing the annual revenues of the state.

It will also contribute to strengthening the Internet for local companies by operating additional capacities on the new cable. The sources said, “The sea and land cables will enhance the level of service and prices offered to the public by linking Kuwait to the global Internet, and work on distributing international communications through multiple international gateway. This will reduce the impact of interruptions on the users, and enhance the sustainability of linking Kuwait with the global network”. Regarding the number of land cables, they stated that the country has three land cables currently, indicating that work is underway to establish a fourth land cable that will be completed within six months after creating extensions between the country’s switchboards.

The sources called on the Ministry of Communications to establish parallel lanes for cables linked to the switchboards, explaining that the Umm Al-Hayman, Al- Zour and Al-Nuwaiseeb exchange switchboards are linked by one cable, and in the event of a disconnection, the communications traffic will be affected, especially in light of the construction works on King Fahad bin Abdulaziz Road (Fifth Ring Road).

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