A consortium of four subsea cable operators, namely PCCW Global, Sparkle, Telecom Egypt, and Zain Omantel International (ZOI) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to collaborate on the construction of the Asia-Africa-Europe-2 (AAE-2) subsea cable system connecting Hong Kong and Singapore to Italy traversing terrestrial corridors across Thailand, the Arabian Peninsula, and Egypt, according to a press release.
AAE-2 will also feature strategic extensions to additional key destinations across its route, further enhancing intercontinental connectivity and supporting the growing demands of cloud services, content delivery, and digital transformation initiatives across the regions. This initiative is designed to revolutionize global connectivity by delivering a geographical diverse, resilient, and high-performance route for international traffic. By integrating both subsea and terrestrial infrastructure, AAE-2 will create a future-proof data highway between Asia, Africa and Europe.
Building on the legacy of the AAE-1 cable, AAE-2 will incorporate the most advanced technological innovations offering unprecedented bandwidth capacity.
“Following our instrumental role in the success of the AAE-1 system, we are pleased to bring our expertise to AAE-2, an advanced, high-capacity and geographically diverse subsea cable system connecting Asia and Europe,” said Frederick Chui, Chief Executive Officer of PCCW Global.
“In recent years, we have invested in new submarine systems and established advanced landing hubs along this strategic route, reinforcing our commitment to reliable global connectivity. Among the key initiatives, the Blue & Raman submarine cable systems – linking Italy to India through an innovative path – together with the strengthening of the Sicily Hub in Palermo and the hub in Chania as well as the creation of a brand new scalable landing platform in Genoa. With AAE-2, we are taking a further step forward, contributing to the creation of a distinctive infrastructure that combines terrestrial and subsea solutions,” said Enrico Bagnasco, Chief Executive Officer of Sparkle.
“Over the years, we have made major investments and established partnerships to develop our cutting-edge subsea cable infrastructure, that we are witnessing today. The construction of AAE-2 cable system is a continuation of our success stories as a global data connectivity provider. AAE-2 will also benefit from accessing and cross-connecting with the other subsea cables using our WeConnect ecosystem,” said Mohamed Nasr, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Telecom Egypt.
“This collaboration marks a defining milestone for ZOI; as the international gateway for the Middle East, we are uniquely positioned at the crossroads of Asia, Africa and Europe, making us a strategic enabler of next-generation connectivity. AAE-2 reflects our long-term vision to connect continents and digital ecosystems through resilient and state-of-the-art infrastructure,” Sohail Qadir, Chief Executive Officer of ZOI, said.
