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SEA-ME-WE 6

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SEA-ME-WE 6
Cable typeSubmarine Fibre-optic
PredecessorSEA-ME-WE, SEA-ME-WE 2, SEA-ME-WE 3, SEA-ME-WE 4, SEA-ME-WE 5
Construction beginning21 February 2022
Construction finishedExpected RFS 2025
Design capacity126 Tbit/s (12.6 Tbit/s per fibre pair)
Area servedSouth East Asia, Middle East Asia, Western Europe
Owner(s)Consortium

South East Asia–Middle East–Western Europe 6 (SEA-ME-WE 6) is an in-progress optical fibre submarine communications cable system that would carry telecommunications between Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Western Europe. Construction began in early 2022. It is expected to be operational in the first quarter of 2025[1] The expected cable length is 19,200 km and it has a design capacity of 126 Tbit/s (12.6 Tbit/s per fiber pair), using SDM technology.[2]

Bangladesh, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman, the UAE, Djibouti, Egypt, Turkey, Italy, France, Myanmar and Yemen are members of the SEA-ME-WE-6 Consortium.[3]

In May 2023, it was reported the U.S. government had objected to Chinese participation in the cable due to security concerns, and construction was moved from Huawei Marine Networks to a U.S. consortium, SubCom.[4] Due to rising geopolitical tensions between China and the US, two Chinese operators, namely China Telecom and China Mobile withdrew from the consortium.[5] They are planning a rival cable with China Unicom.[6]

Planned landing points

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SEA-ME-WE 6 Landing points[7]
Location Operator & Technical Partner
Marseille, France Orange S.A[8]
Port Said, Egypt

Ras Ghareb, Egypt

Telecom Egypt[9]
Yanbu, Saudi Arabia Mobily[10]
Djibouti City, Dijbouti Djibouti Telecom[11]
Karachi, Pakistan Transworld Associates[12]
Mumbai, India Bharti Airtel[13]
Hulhumale, Maldives Dhiraagu[14][15]
Matara, Sri Lanka Sri Lanka Telecom[16]
Chennai, India Bharti Airtel[13]
Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh Bangladesh Submarine Cable Company Limited[17]
Morib, Malaysia Telekom Malaysia[18]
Tuas, Singapore Singtel[19]

Al Khaleej Branch

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Al Khaleej is a branch of the upcoming SEA-ME-WE 6 cable connecting the UAE to Bahrain, Oman and Qatar. Jointly operated by Batelco and Etisalat by e&, it will be 1,400 km long and ready for service in Q2 2026.[20]

Al Khaleej Branch (Planned Landing points)
Location Operator & Technical Partner
Barka, Oman Batelco (Al Khaleej Branch)[21]
Doha, Qatar Batelco (Al Khaleej Branch)[21]
Manama, Bahrain Batelco (Al Khaleej Branch)[22]
Abu Dhabi, UAE Etisalat by e& (Al Khaleej Branch)[21]

References

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  1. ^ Baldock, Harry (2022-02-21). "Work begins on SEA-ME-WE 6 submarine cable". Totaltelecom. Retrieved 2024-02-16.
  2. ^ "SEA-ME-WE 6 - Submarine Networks". www.submarinenetworks.com. Retrieved 2024-02-16.
  3. ^ "Four Int'l Firms in Race to Build Third Submarine Cable". 6 January 2020. Retrieved 2020-04-17.
  4. ^ Stefano Kotsonis; Meghna Chakrabarti (May 22, 2023). "A new rivalry between the U.S. and China over the world's undersea cables". On Point (show transcript). Boston: WBUR.
  5. ^ Lipscombe, Paul (2023-02-13). "Two Chinese operators withdraw from SEA-ME-WE 6 subsea cable project as tensions with US grow". Data Centre Dynamics. Retrieved 2024-02-16.
  6. ^ China to build $500m SEA-ME-WE-6 rival cable
  7. ^ "SEA-ME-WE 6 Submarine Cable Map". www.submarinecablemap.com. Retrieved 2024-02-16.
  8. ^ Malik, Saf (2024-05-02). "SEA-ME-WE 6 cable lands in Marseille". Capacity Media. Retrieved 2024-09-19.
  9. ^ "Telecom Egypt extends its network reach through SEA-ME-WE 6 cable and provides it a unique crossing route over its distinctive infrastructure". ir.te.eg. Retrieved 2024-02-16.
  10. ^ "Mobily joins SEA-ME-WE-6 consortium to build undersea cable system". SatellitePro ME. 2022-03-09. Retrieved 2022-12-12.
  11. ^ "Construction of the new SEA-ME-WE 6 Cable - Djibouti Telecom". international.djiboutitelecom.dj. 2022-02-21. Retrieved 2024-02-16.
  12. ^ "Pakistan to Get New Submarine Cable SEA-ME-WE 6 with 100Tbps Speeds Through TWA". ProPakistani. 2022-02-25. Retrieved 2022-02-16.
  13. ^ a b "Bharti Airtel joins SEA-ME-WE-6 undersea cable consortium; anchoring 20 pc investment in cable system". The Economic Times. 2022-02-21. ISSN 0013-0389. Retrieved 2024-02-16.
  14. ^ Bank, Asian Development (2022-10-26). "ADB, Dhiraagu to Expand Internet Access in Maldives Through New Undersea Cable System". www.adb.org. Retrieved 2024-02-16.
  15. ^ Osmanagic, Ameera (2024-08-02). "Dhiraagu introduces global super-highway SEA-ME-WE 6 submarine cable in Maldives". The Edition. Retrieved 2024-09-19.
  16. ^ "SLTMobitel". www.slt.lk. Retrieved 2024-02-16.
  17. ^ "Bangladesh to connect with 3rd submarine cable by 2021". banglatribune.com. Retrieved 2020-04-17.
  18. ^ "TM In Consortium To Build SEA-ME-WE 6 Submarine Cable System". www.kkd.gov.my. 2022-02-21. Retrieved 2024-02-16.
  19. ^ "SEA-ME-WE 6 consortium to install high-capacity undersea cable system connecting Singapore to France; completion set for Q1 2025". www.singtel.com. Retrieved 2024-02-16.
  20. ^ Grey, Deborah (2024-02-20). "Batelco signs MoU with e& to land Al Khaleej subsea cable in UAE". W Media. Retrieved 2024-02-24.
  21. ^ a b c Butler, Georgia (2024-02-16). "Batelco and e& sign MoU to land Al Khaleej subsea cable in UAE". Data Center Dynamics. Retrieved 2024-02-24.
  22. ^ Dux, Simon (2023-09-20). "Batelco chooses SubCom to build and install SEA-ME-WE 6 branch". Mobile Europe. Retrieved 2024-02-16.
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