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Tata Communications (News - Alert), a provider of a new world of communications, has signed strategic partnership agreements with several of the major telecommunications operators in the Middle East to construct a new cable system into the Gulf. 

The company officials said that the new cable will connect the region directly to the world's major business hubs and city centres via Tata's Global Network, or “the TGN”.

According to the company officials, the partners, Bahrain Internet Exchange in the Kingdom of Bahrain, Nawras (News - Alert) of Oman, Qatar Telecom of Qatar, Mobily of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Etisalat of the United Arab Emirates will each be the exclusive landing party for the TGN Gulf Cable System in their respective geography. 

The company officials said that the cable and the relationships with the landing parties will be further developed to provide an extended portfolio of value added services for local and global enterprise customers who are very active in this rapidly expanding emerging market.

“This partnership with the top operators in the Middle East to build the TGN Gulf Cable System underscores our aspirations to be a key player in the emerging markets space,”  Vinod Kumar (News - Alert), president and COO of Tata Communications, said. 

Kumar said that each of these partnerships will create mutual benefits that will multiply steadily as companies in the Middle East expand out to the rest of the world and as global MNCs seek connectivity to expand their operations to this fast growing region.

The company officials said that the TGN-Gulf Cable System and its associated worldwide reach provide new dimensions to the infrastructure and unique service capabilities for each of the partners. 

Each party, using their own cable station, will have access to a new high-speed route to the globe and bring in much needed resilience and diversity to the infrastructure in each country. 

This capacity, the company officials said, will enable the expansion in broadband penetration, Internet usage and enterprise applications in each market.

Mohamed Al-Thawadi the executive director of Bahrain Internet Exchange, or “BIX,” said that BIX has been providing services to the ISPs since 2005 with the objectives of ensuring high speed at low costs. This new submarine cable system represents a significant telecommunications infrastructure investment for BIX and will cater for the high-speed and broadband international connectivity requirements for enterprises based in the Kingdom of Bahrain. 

Al-Thawadi said that it allows for the fast and cost effective provisioning of capacity from the Kingdom of Bahrain to the world's major business hubs and city centers. By providing an additional cable system through the TGN-Gulf, BIX will enable much needed capacity growth to maintain the unprecedented expansion in data, Internet and media traffic usage as well as improving physical diversity and overall connectivity out of the Kingdom of Bahrain. 

“BIX also foresees a huge reduction in prices as compared to the current situation, which will be beneficial to all the users of the Internet,” Al-Thawadi added.