Telecommunications services provider Saudi Telecommunication Company (STC) says it has launched its first high-speed cable in the Red Sea, through a landing station in Jeddah.
The Saudi Vision Cable, as it is known, is wholly owned by STC Group and spans a distance of 1.1 million metres.
The new cable will provide connectivity of up to 18 terabytes per second/fibre pair with 16 fibre pairs through four landings in Jeddah, Yanbu, Duba, and Haql.
The cable’s name is a reference to Vision 2030, a strategic framework to reduce Saudi Arabia's dependence on oil, diversify its economy, and develop public service sectors such as health, education, infrastructure, recreation and tourism.
The aim is that the cable will provide digital connectivity services for corporates and individuals between Saudi Arabia and the world by building a regional digital hub connecting continents and helping to meet the needs of companies and customers via an integrated digital ecosystem.
The new cable will be one of the submarine cables that will be linked to the MENA hub connecting three continents. The hope is that it will help to enhance investment in international communication services and data centres.
It will join the 16 cables the STC Group has invested in between the east and the west of the kingdom with the aim of providing a more reliable internet service to meet increasing demand from all sectors, including education, healthcare and business.
