Interoute: Malta's gateway to Europe and the world - Feb 19 08

Second submarine cable linking Malta to Italy is officially launched to upgrade Malta’s capacity by nine times. 

London, 19 February 2008 – Interoute, the next generation Pan-European network operator, and GO, Malta’s quad-play telecom provider, have signed an agreement to deploy a second submarine cable, linking Malta to Italy and the rest of the continent through Interoute’s pan-European network. The project known as ‘GO 1 Mediterranean Cable System’ will be completed this autumn and will increase diversity, resiliency and international broadband connectivity to meet Malta’s expanding telecommunications needs. 

The cable will be 290 km long with four fibre pairs and will land in Mazara del Vallo in Italy. Made possible through the Emirates International Telecommunications (EIT)/Dubai partnership, the new cable will increase Malta’s existing available capacity by nine times. This will help the country to realise its vision of becoming a centre of excellence in Information and Communications Technology (ICT) and an ICT hub in the Mediterranean. 

GO Chairman Sonny Portelli said the company will be implementing the new submarine cable system to offer further resiliency to its existing international links by having a completely diverse route.
Sonny Portelli added, “The new submarine cable will augment GO’s international capacity and cater for projected demands for broadband services in Malta, which will increase in the near future. Moreover, it will give GO the possibility to procure broadband capacity from Interoute.” 

For Interoute, this project is another building block in the network expansion strategy started in 2004. Since then the operator has grown its Next Generation network from the business centres of Europe into the growing markets of the southern Mediterranean, Southwest Asia, Middle East and North Africa.  

As the demand for bandwidth and advanced services continues to explode (driven by the internet economy and spiralling broadband consumption) operators, such as Interoute, that already own fibre optic infrastructure are ideally positioned to be able to meet future bandwidth demand.

Gareth Williams, Interoute CEO, said, “Interoute is proud to be part of this forward thinking venture, which will have a significant impact for Malta and its businesses. With this cable, GO and Interoute will open up opportunities for Malta in the European Union, North America, the Middle East and beyond. It will physically link Malta directly into Interoute’s fibre optic network, Europe’s largest communications platform, making access to London, Paris, Amsterdam and Rome almost instantaneous.”

Emirates International Telecommunications (EIT) is a joint venture of TECOM Investments and Dubai Investment Group, (both members of Dubai Holding). EIT was established in 2006 to invest in telecommunication companies globally, taking significant stakes in players across the telecoms value chain.

EIT is the majority Shareholder in Go and currently invests in a number of other telecommunications companies, including Tunisie Telecom, the largest provider of telecommunication networks and services in Tunisia, and Interoute. 

About Interoute

Interoute is the owner operator of Europe's most advanced and densely connected voice and data network, encompassing over 54,000 kms of lit fibre. Its full-service next generation network serves more than 12,000 customers across a broad range of sectors from finance to retail and every major European incumbent, as well as the major operators of North America, East and South Asia, governments, universities and research agencies. These organisations find Interoute the ideal partner for hosting content, providing wholesale transit services, corporate access or creating new services. With established operations throughout mainland Europe, North America and Dubai Interoute also owns and operates dense city networks throughout Europe's major business centres. More than €1 billion in e-commerce transactions flows through its data centres each day, making Interoute a key part of Europe’s DigitalSupply Chain. www.interoute.com      

About GO

GO is Malta’s first and only quadruple play operator, a truly converged and integrated telecommunications company with a wide range of services. As Malta’s leading provider of telecommunications services, GO offers fixed line telephony, mobile telephony, broadband Internet services, digital television, data networking solutions, business IP services, co-location facilities and call centre services. The Group has been in the business of communications for the past 30 years and its current major shareholder is EIT, a joint venture between TECOM Investments and Dubai Investment Group – both part of Dubai Holding. The remaining shares are traded on the Malta and London Stock Exchanges. www.go.com.mt

For further information please contact:

Rebecca Gregory / Jenny TaylorLighthouse PR
Tel: +44 (0) 20 7494 6590
E-mail: Interoute@lighthousepr.com