PTCL lands high-speed cable at Karachi
KARACHI: The Pakistan Telecommunication Company Ltd (PTCL) has successfully landed the Africa-1 submarine internet cable at Karachi.
In a statement on Saturday, the telecom company said the cable made its landfall at the landing site at Sea View Beach.
“It marks a transformative step in enhancing Pakistan’s digital connectivity,” the statement said.
The cable, with a speed of 96 terabits per second, is expected to come online next year.
PTCL is part of an eight-company global consortium operating the Africa-1 cable.
Other companies in the consortium are Saudi Arabia’s Mobily; UAE’s e& and G42; Telecom Egypt; Zain Omantel International; Algeria’s Algérie Télécom; and TeleYemen.
The cable system spanning 10,000 kilometres uses “state-of-the-art advanced technologies” and will link Pakistan to Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Sudan, Algeria, France, Kenya, and Djibouti, PTCL added.
Other than Karachi, the Afica-1 cable has landing stations in Bejaia, Algeria; Djibouti City, Djibouti; Port Said and Ras Ghareb, Egypt; Marseille, France; Mombasa, Kenya; Duba, Saudi Arabia; Berbera, Somalia; Kalba, UAE; and Al Hudaydah, Yemen.
Syed Muhammad Shoaib, PTCL’s group vice president of International Business, said the company partnership for the Africa-1 cable “aligns seamlessly with Pakistan’s Digital Vision 2030”.
It reflects “our commitment to empowering the communities by bridging the digital divide”.
Africa-1 is the second cable to have landed in Pakistan in as many months. Earlier in December, Transworld Associates linked the Africa-2 cable to its landing station in Karachi. It is also expected to come online by next year.
Currently, six cables, with a capacity of 13tpbs, bring internet to Pakistan: Asia-Africa-Europe 1 (AAE-1), South East Asia-Middle East-West Europe 4 (SMW4) and India-Middle East-Western Europe (IMEWE), managed by PTCL; and South East Asia-Middle East-West Europe 5 (SMW-5) and Transworld Associates 1 (TWA-1), operated by Transworld Associates.
Cyber Internet Services operates the sixth cable named Pakistan and East Africa Connecting Europe (PEACE).
With input from APP
Published in Dawn, February 23rd, 2025
