Tunisian operators deploy submarine cable connecting Europe

Two of Tunisia’s mobile operators have signed a deal with with backbone operator and cloud services provider Interoute for the deployment of a submarine cable connecting Tunisia to Europe.

Orange Tunisie and Tunisiana, which is 90 per cent owned by Qatari group Ooredoo, will deploy a private submarine cable, called Didon, which will cover nearly 170km. It will connect to the city of Kélibia, Tunisia to Interoute’s pan European fiber optic network, via its landing station in Mazara del Vallo, Siciliy, Italy.

The cable is planned to be in place by April 2014 and its capacity will begin at 100GBps at launch with an aim to reach 8Tbps, per operator. According to Interoute, the cable will act as a force for social development and economic growth for the country.

“The Didon cable will provide increased capacity and better service to the seven million consumers and businesses that rely on Tunisiana,” said Ken Campbell, CEO of Tunisiana. “This investment is also a testament to our belief in the potential for growth in Tunisia as a hub for the region.”

Didier Charvet, CEO of Orange Tunisie added: “This investment is also a proof that Orange Tunisie believes in the development of the ICT sector and e-services in Tunisia.”

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