Iraq Submarine Cables and Backbone Challenges : د قاسم الحساني

Kassim

Iraq Submarine Cables and Backbone Challenges

Dr. Kassim Mohammed Al-Hassani
Senior Telecommunications Consultant
Diginets Consultancy Services

1.0 Introduction

Submarine cable is one of the most modern methods of transporting and delivering information between countries and continents.
Around 80 % of global communication and data transfer are made through these cables because of their speed, security, accuracy, and lower cost compared with satellites and terrestrial links.

  • Cables are buried in shallow waters to protect them from shipping activity, while at greater depths (about three miles down) armor is unnecessary.

  • As of 2006, overseas satellite links carried only 1 % of international traffic; the rest was carried by submarine cables.

  • Submarine cables offer terabit-per-second capacity versus ~1000 Mbps for satellites and have much lower latency.

  • However, a typical multi-terabit trans-oceanic cable system costs hundreds of millions of dollars to build.

Because of this high cost and strategic value, these cables are vital not only for private operators but also for national governments.

Between 1998 and 2003, roughly 70 % of new undersea fiber-optic cable was laid in the Pacific to meet Asia’s growing economic importance.

Most people are unaware of how undersea cables look; unarmored cables are only 17–21 mm in diameter – about the size of a garden hose.

2.0 Regional Submarine Cables

Countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) are in developing phases, with broadband demand rising rapidly.
Cisco projected (2012-2017) Internet traffic growth in the Middle East and Africa at 39 % CAGR, with peak traffic increasing 5.5-fold.
This demands stronger international, national, and access network infrastructure.

2.1 Submarine Networks

Since 2010, several systems—IMEWE, Europe-India Gateway, Hawk, TE North, TGN-Gulf, Gulf Bridge, Jonah, Loukkos—have boosted MENA capacity.

  • Feb 2012: Tata Communications TGN-Gulf cable linked Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, and UAE to SEACOM/TGN-Eurasia.

  • Early 2012: Gulf Bridge International (GBI) extended its cable to Al-Faw, Iraq, marking Iraq’s first direct international submarine link.

  • July 2012: Reliance Globalcom landed the older Falcon cable in Al-Faw (Basra).

  • SeaMeWe-5 connected Southeast Asia to the Middle East and Europe.

  • Bay of Bengal Gateway (BBG) offered a diverse route from Malaysia to Oman and then via EPEG to Europe.

3.0 Iraq Backbone and Submarine Cables

The Iraqi Telecommunications and Post Company (ITPC) built ≈ 5000 km of fiber nationwide.
Since 2003: ~2200 km repaired + 3000 km newly built + 1500 km under construction.

  • Major cities (Baghdad, Basra, Mosul): 4 route directions.

  • Secondary cities (Karbala, Kut, Najaf): 3 routes.

Goal: a stable, reliable, future-oriented network delivering end-to-end domestic bandwidth and international gateway (IGW) services with strong SLA and QoS.

Gulf Bridge International (GBI)

  • ITPC purchased 144 STM-1 capacity.

  • The Gulf Ring Cable Network is self-healing, using double landings in Qatar and Fujairah (UAE) with branches in Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain.

  • The West Route passes through the Red Sea to Egypt and Europe, landing at Sicily (Italy) then Milan – connecting the Gulf directly to major European telecom hubs.

  • East Route: links to India via a branch off Oman, providing Gulf-India connectivity.

Falcon Project

  • Iraq purchased 7 × STM-64 capacity with a landing station in Basra.

  • High-capacity submarine system (64 wavelengths per fiber pair) connecting Mumbai → Suez, forming the first self-healing loop in the Arabian Gulf.

  • Operated by FLAG Global Network Operations Centre (GNOC).

  • Interconnects with other FLAG systems (FEA, FA-1, FNA Loop) for global reach.

4.0 Conclusions

  • Submarine cable networks are expanding to serve the developing world.

  • Satellite backup alone is insufficient for modern cable capacity, requiring terrestrial redundancy.

  • Operators may build additional landing stations and ring networks to link landing points with data centres.

  • These high-value cables benefit not only private operators and ISPs but also national governments.

5.0 References

  1. Newsweek Europe: “Undersea Cables Transport 99 Percent of International Communications.”

  2. Gardiner, Bryan (2008-02-25). Wired – “Google’s Submarine Cable Plans Get Official.”

  3. Lindstrom, A. (1999). Taming the Terrors of the Deep, America’s Network, 103(1), 5-16.