Cyta and Lebanese Ministry ratify agreement to construct EUROPA Cable System

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The Cyprus Telecommunications Authority (Cyta) and the Lebanese Ministry of Telecommunications have ratified an agreement for the construction of a submarine fiber optic cable system between Cyprus and Lebanon, named EUROPA.

EUROPA is expected to be a repeaterless submarine cable with at least 8 fibre-pairs that will be interconnected with ALEXANDROS subsystem to provide connectivity to European destinations and beyond, forming a telecommunications bridge between the Middle East and Europe. At the same time, EUROPA will be complementing the existing CADMOS and IMEWE systems, to offer an alternative routing and improve resilience.

Speaking on Monday, after a meeting with Lebanese Minister of Telecommunications Nicolas Sehnaoui, Chairman of Cyta's Board of Directors Stathis Kittis expressed Cyta’s appreciation and satisfaction regarding the Lebanese Ministry of Telecommunications’ willingness to cooperate with Cyta in establishing an international telecommunications bridge between Lebanon and Europe.

“We are deeply honoured to have been given the opportunity to contribute to Lebanon’s international telecommunications infrastructure that will enable the Lebanese Ministry of Telecommunications to meet the ever expanding needs and business goals of the Lebanese people and Lebanese enterprises, by embracing new technologies, generating competitively priced innovative products and delivering first-rate reliable telecommunications services,” he said.

Kittis noted that Cyta and the Lebanese Ministry of Telecommunications have been close partners for many years. He said that in 1975, they established together the coaxial submarine cable ADONIS, which was replaced in 1994 with CADMOS, a repeaterless optical fiber system, which continues to this day to be one of the main systems via which both organisations jointly exploit market opportunities.

Moreover, Kittis pointed out that Cyta has always considered the Lebanese Ministry of Telecommunications as one of the most important strategic partners in the region.

The Lebanese Minister of Telecommunications said that they also consider themselves to be a strategic partner of Cyta. “We believe that both our countries can take advantage from building together a strategic project such as the EUROPA system,” he added.

“I think the negotiations went well,” Sehnaoui said, adding there are still some minor points that need to be followed up together. “Of course, in Lebanon we need to pass the agreement from the Council of Ministers in order to finalise it,” he concluded.

The submarine cable system will connect Lebanon with Cyprus and will be in a more advantageous state because it will be operating without the use of submarine repeaters.