A new subsea cable collaboration will connect Muscat in Oman to Karachi in Pakistan.
The project was brought about by an agreement between Pakistani domestic and international carrier Multinet Pakistan, Middle Eastern operator and wholesale carrier Omantel, and optical transport solutions provider Xtera. The Silk Route Gateway 1 (SRG-1) system will connect Muscat to Karachi with an eventual extension into Gwadar.
"The SRG-1 project is our ambition to restore the significance of the traditional silk route by establishing a digital gateway to the most budding telecom markets of the Asian subcontinent”, said Rashid Shafi (SEVP & Chief Strategy Officer, Multinet Pakistan). “This new cable will fuel the massively growing demands of the Pakistani market and will bring up an unprecedented reach to China, Afghanistan and Central Asia.”
Sohail Qadir, Vice President, Omantel Wholesale, commented: “SRG-1 bridges Asia to Africa and the West through a low latency network and we anticipate this to evolve as the telecom world’s primary access to the region.”
Xtera will supply its turnkey 100G/100G+ optimised submarine system solution for this new project, including Nu-Wave Optima Submarine Line Terminal Equipment (SLTE), undersea optical repeaters, undersea branching units, cable, all marine services, project management, installation and commissioning.
