Cable laying for the Falcon fibre-optic regional cable system, which will provide multiple landings throughout the Gulf and Mumbai, has begun.
Sub-sea cable laying operations between the shore end landing site in Al Seeb, Oman and Mumbai will stretch approximately 1,700km to where the cable will land at the new Reliance landing station on India's west coast.
Depending on weather conditions, Alcatel's cable ship Ile de Batz is scheduled to reach Mumbai in approximately five weeks, where the final splice will take place and full link testing will begin.
The Falcon network is being built and installed in simultaneous sections using multiple submarine cable laying ships and initial service will begin in the fourth quarter of this year.
Muscat and Mumbai will be the locations anticipated to be live by that date, with services to other landing countries following in succession.
"Falcon is on track to becoming the region's premier cable system," said Walid Irshaid, president Middle East and Africa for FLAG Telecom.
Falcon is being installed by Alcatel Submarine Systems, and consists of a protected Gulf Loop and submarine links to Egypt in the west and, initially, Mumbai in the east.
Across India the Falcon system can interconnect seamlessly with India's domestic networks, including Reliance's 80,000 km high-speed pan-India infrastructure, allowing customers to access major cities and towns.
The Falcon system will have landings in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Oman, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait and India, significantly more than any other current or planned regional cable system. Announcements of additional landings are anticipated.
FLAG's cable network already spans the globe and the company has an acknowledged reputation for a centralised end to end network management underpinned by exceptional quality and service support.
FLAG Telecom, owned by India's Reliance Group, owns and manages an extensive optical fibre network spanning four continents and connecting key business markets in Asia, Europe, the Middle East and the US.
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