Global telecommunications will undergo a drastic and revolutionary change with the introduction of the Quantum Cable, the super-fast subsea cable of up to 160Tbps in the Mediterranean, following a Memorandum of Understanding and Heads of Agreement signed in Nicosia between the owner, Quantum Cable, and a leading U.S.-based global industry supplier, major S&P company and supported by government officials from Cyprus and Greece.
This follows a trilateral declaration of co-operation in
The MoU/HoA was signed by Nasos Ktorides, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Quantum Cable and the contractor/supplier.
The “Quantum Cable”, with a capacity of up to 160Tbps will be laid at depths of more than 3,000 metres in parallel with the EuroAsia Interconnector and its operation is expected to commence simultaneously with the 2,000MW EuroAsia Interconnector, thus achieving tremendous economies of scale.
The entire cost of the project is estimated at US$200 million which will be undertaken by Quantum.
The Quantum Cable system will be in operation by October 2020.
The Quantum Cable will achieve a “massive data highway” at very high interconnection speeds, similar to the MAREA subsea cable connecting across the Atlantic Ocean from Virginia in the US to Bilbao, Spain, in Europe.
“We are delighted that we will once again be at the forefront of telecommunications, with this high-speed connectivity, transforming and upgrading the geopolitical strategic role of Cyprus into a bridge between Asia and Europe and beyond,” said Cyprus Communications and Transport Minister, Marios Demetriades at the meeting.
“The Quantum Cable will drastically change the telecommunications map of South East Europe and the Mediterranean, with Cyprus as a pivotal hub for telecommunications, in addition to its new role as regional energy and maritime centre,” added Minister Demetriades.
“The Quantum Cable will have enough capacity to handle tens of millions of high-definition video conference calls between Asia and Europe at the same time, thus supporting the exponentially growing demand from Asia and Europe for high speed, secure connections for Cloud providers, Data centres and Online services,” Ktorides said at the signing ceremony.
“Existing subsea cables in the Mediterranean currently have an average capacity of 3-4 Tbps, while the Quantum Cable will be up to 40 times faster,” he added.
Quantum Cable will connect Cyprus with Israel, Cyprus with Crete and Attica in Greece, and extend further to Italy, France and Bilbao, Spain reaching the 160 Tbps MAREA submarine cable stretching 6,600 kms across the Atlantic Ocean from Virginia Beach, Virginia, USA, to Bilbao, Spain.
From left: Niki Santama, Director of the Minister’s Office; Quantum Cable Project Director George Killas; CEO Nasos Ktorides; Communications and Transport Minister Marios Demetriades; Yiorgos Komodromos, Director of Electronic Communications, Ministry of Communications
