Iraq, Qatar to lay optical fiber cable linking Singapore to Italy

An undersea internet cable. Photo: Shutterstock Baghdad (IraqiNews.com) – Ooredoo Group’s international connectivity arm, OFN, has partnered with Iraq’s iQ Networks and the Iraqi Telecommunications and Post Company (ITPC) to build a massive terrestrial and subsea digital corridor connecting Asia, the Gulf, and Europe. Ooredoo is developing a project that includes a 2,000-kilometer subsea system. This system will feature up to 24 fiber pairs and can support a capacity of up to 720 terabits per second. The project will link seven Gulf and regional markets, which are Qatar, Iraq, Oman, the UAE, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait. This dual-arrangement bridges the subsea Gulf network with an overland path heading north through Iraq toward Turkey and Europe, bypassing traditional maritime chokepoints like the Red Sea. The fiber-optic connection that will bridge Singapore in East Asia to Italy in southern Europe is expected to be completed by 2027. The Iraqi Ministry of Communications announced that it signed a deal with Qatar to establish the terrestrial and submarine fiber-optic connection.