A new collaboration will enhance Iraq’s connectivity with Europe, Asia and the Gulf coast countries via the new Gulf Bridge International (GBI) fibre optic cable network. The Iraqi Investment & Technology Group Company (ITC) has signed a strategic alliance agreement with PCCW Global, an operating division of Hong Kong operator HKT.
ITC has won a 15-year investment license from Iraq Telecommunication and Post Company (ITPC) to market transmission capacity over the GBI, which connects all of the Gulf Coast countries to Europe and Asia. GBI is a privately-owned fibre optic cable company backed by sovereign wealth funds from the Middle East region.
The collaboration enhances Iraq’s connection to the rest of the world via PCCW Global’s network, which connects to over 1,800 cities in 120 countries. PCCW Global’s customers worldwide can now access virtually all cities and locations in Iraq through a combination of copper, fibre, microwave, and satellite solutions offered by PCCW Global and ITC.
Mr. Fadil Mosawi, Chairman of Investment and Technology Group Company, said, “Together with the new GBI fibre cable, the Iraqi people will soon be able to connect to the rest of world with higher Internet connection speed and enjoy new services including Voice over IP, High Definition TV, as well as a host of other business applications such as cloud computing. Video Teleconferencing will make doing business with Iraq simpler and more efficient. Healthcare institutions and universities will also benefit from the availability of large bandwidth and higher access speeds.”
Mr. AL Kharafi, Chairman of Al Mal Investment Co., said, “This milestone collaboration marks a new chapter for Iraq as it is one of the most significant steps in rebuilding Iraq and its economy. We believe having a strong partner like PCCW Global with a track record of providing advanced communication solutions is important to foster the development of business community in Iraq.”
