Coral Bridge Subsea Cable Now Connects Egypt and Jordan

Telecom operator Telecom Egypt, one of the biggest subsea cable operators in the region, and NaiTel, a licensed telecom service provider in Jordan and the telecom division of Aqaba Digital Hub (ADH), have announced the completion of the construction of the express subsea cable ‘Coral Bridge’ that connects Egypt and Jordan. 

After making a successful landing at Taba, Egypt, the Coral Bridge subsea system was deployed across the Gulf of Aqaba before landing in Aqaba, Jordan. Coral Bridge is a significant milestone in the development of the region’s digital infrastructure as it is the first direct underwater cable to connect the two nations in more over 25 years. It offers an express high-fiber-count digital link across the Gulf of Aqaba.

As part of Telecom Egypt’s larger, more recently constructed international digital infrastructure in the Sinai Peninsula, Coral Bridge is the first communications subsea system to dock at the company’s new cable landing site in Taba, Egypt. The cable arrived in Jordan at ADH’s Tier III carrier-neutral colocation facility in Aqaba, facilitating recovery and redundancy plans for companies, including data center-hosted corporations and hyperscalers.

Coral Bridge would benefit local, regional, and global enterprises by offering seamless onward connection throughout Asia, Africa, and Europe by utilizing both nations’ advantageous positions and Telecom Egypt’s vast undersea ecosystem. With 48 fiber pairs, the 15-kilometer cable can carry more than 1 Petabit of data traffic, meeting the increasing need for data-intensive digital applications like artificial intelligence and cloud computing. Its brief duration also drastically cuts down on latency and data expenses.

Sustainability

Coral Bridge is designed to meet the strictest environmental and technological requirements. The cable was created with sustainability in mind, striking a balance between environmental responsibility and performance and capacity. An excellent illustration of how cross-border alliances may provide long-term benefits and open the door for upcoming infrastructure projects in the Middle East and beyond is the relationship between ADH/NaiTel and Telecom Egypt. 

The CEO and founder of Aqaba Digital Hub (ADH), Eyad Abu Khorma, made the following statement: “Coral Bridge is a strategic asset for the entire area, not simply a cable. It lands in ADH’s carrier-neutral facility in Jordan, which has one of the biggest data centers in MENA and improves access to regional markets. We are bolstering regional resilience and creating new prospects for high-performance infrastructure and sovereign connectivity by facilitating a direct digital connection between Aqaba, Jordan, and the Sinai Peninsula, Egypt.”

Telecom Egypt‘s CEO and Managing Director, Mohamed Nasr, added: “The establishment of a strong data communication corridor between the Middle East and Europe is made possible by the strategic closeness of Taba and Aqaba. The Coral Bridge subsea cable system will combine significant regional traffic and route it through Egypt’s various terrestrial routes to the Mediterranean Sea thanks to our partnership with NaiTel and their carrier-neutral ecosystem in Aqaba via the Aqaba Digital Hub. In order to facilitate data center development, satisfy the region’s increasing data needs, and improve the resilience of the subsea cable networks in the area, this vital infrastructure is essential.”