GBI signs deal with BT

Gulf Bridge International (GBI), a subsea cable operator owned by Gulf investors, has appointed British Telecom to advise on the construction of a $445 million (Dh1.63 billion) subsea cable linking the six GCC states.

Envisaged to be operational by 2011, the high-capacity fibre optic undersea cable will allow the transmission of transactions by telecom companies, banks, insurance and other firms in the Middle East, Gulf Bridge International said in a statement. The cable will link Saudi Arabia, Oman, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait and the UAE to each other, and to other countries, it said.

Earlier, GBI had signed a memorandum of understanding with Riyadh-based Integrated Telecom Company (ITC) to connect the Saudi market to the Gulf region and to the world via GBI's advanced and scalable network of submarine cables. GBI network connects its Gulf ring to the world through two international connectivity routes to the East to India and the Far East and to the West to Italy and Europe.

The collaboration between the two companies will enable ITC to cater to its customers' increasing demand on international data communications services in the Saudi Arabia.

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