PEACE Cable: Pakistan's Highest Bandwidth Undersea Internet Connection to Africa and Europe

[Riaz Haq]

Pakistan and East Africa Connecting Europe (PEACE) is  96 Tbps (terabits per second), 15,000 km long, privately owned submarine cable that will originate in Karachi, Pakistan and run underwater all the way to Marseilles, France via multiple points in the continent of Africa.  It is being built as part of Digital Silk Road sponsored by China. Cybernet and Jazz are the local landing and global connectivity partners of PEACE Cable System in Pakistan. It will enable high-speed access to a variety of content, cloud computing, gaming and video streaming platforms.  

PEACE Undersea Cable Route. Source: Submarine Cable Networks

The laying of PEACE undersea cable in Pakistan's territorial waters will begin in March, following government approval this month for Cybernet, a local internet service provider, to construct an Arabian Sea landing station in Karachi, according to Nikkei Asia. The Mediterranean section of the cable is already being laid, and runs from Egypt to France. The 15,000 kilometer-long cable is expected to go into service later this year.   

Mobile Broadband Subscriptions & Data Growth in Pakistan

A 820-kilometer long China-Pakistan fiber optic cable has already been laid between the city of Rawalpindi, Pakistan in the south and the Khunjerab Pass, China in the north  and operational since July, 2018. It is currently being extended to Karachi for connection to PEACE cable. 

Broadband Subscriptions Growth in Pakistan. Source: PTA

When completed, PEACE cable will be Pakistan's 7th highest bandwidth, lowest latency undersea connection to the global Internet system. Currently, there are 6 international submarine cable systems connecting Pakistan, including SMW3, SMW4, SMW5, IMEWE, AAE-1 and TW1. PTCL is the landing party in Pakistan for SMW3, SMW4, AAE-1 and IMEWE cable systems, operates cable landing stations in Karachi. SMW3, SMW4 and IMEWE land at Hawksbay, while AAE-1 lands at Clifton. Transworld Associates Private Limited (Transworld, or TWA) privately owns the TW1 cable system and is a member of the SMW5 consortium. Both TW1 and SMW5 land at Hawksbay and terminate at Transworld's cable landing station in Karachi.  

Mobile Data Usage in Pakistan. Source: PTA

Pakistan has experienced a huge surge in Internet traffic during the COVID19 pandemic. Cellular Mobile Data usage in the country has soared from 2,545 petabytes in 2019 to 4,498 petabytes in 2020.  Total number of broadband subscriptions in the country has doubled from about 45 million in 2017 to 90 million in 2020,  according to the Pakistan Telecommunications Authority. 

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[Riaz Haq]

Supernet, Avara win Rs250m project in Pakistan

https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2022/01/19/supernet-avara-win-rs25...

ISLAMABAD: In what could be dubbed a major triumph, Supernet Limited and Australian technology partner Avara Technologies (Pvt) Ltd have been awarded a new project worth Rs250 million, enabling in-country engineers and technicians to rectify faults throughout the equipment’s lifecycle.

The new project, valued at approximately Rs250 million, constitutes Phase 3 of the programme for the supply of multiservice multiplexers and associated operations, maintenance, warranty, and support services.

Supernet Limited (Supernet) announced on Wednesday that they, in conjunction with their Australian technology partner Avara Technologies Pvt Ltd (Avara), have been awarded a new project worth approximately Rs250 million within a long-term program that was awarded in 2021 by a major Pakistani customer.

The new project valued at approximately Rs250 million constitutes Phase 3 of the program for the supply of multiservice multiplexers and associated operations, maintenance, warranty and support services.

The program includes the establishment of a repair facility in Pakistan and the transfer of knowledge through an expansive training program enabling in-country engineers and technicians to rectify faults throughout the equipment’s lifecycle.

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Supernet Wins Major Optical Fiber Supply and Deployment Project worth PKR 150 million

https://www.techjuice.pk/supernet-wins-major-optical-fiber-supply-a...

Supernet Limited (“Supernet”) has secured a sizeable telecommunications infrastructure development project from a Pakistani mobile network operator.

The project valued at over PKR 150 million includes the supply of optical fiber and associated equipment and its deployment in different areas of Punjab. The total length of different segments constituting this project is approximately 140 kilometers.

With this project, Supernet has reached a significant milestone of 1,000 kilometers of optical fiber supply and deployment projects awarded by mobile network operators in Pakistan.

Head of Business Unit-Telecoms & Defense at Supernet, Ali Akhtar said:

“We are excited to play our part in the expansion of telecommunications infrastructure in Pakistan and supporting the proliferation of communications and digital services by mobile network operators in the country. We are ever grateful to our customers for repeatedly trusting Supernet. The optical fiber business line is a relatively new endeavour for Supernet and the 1,000 kilometres mark is a testament to our capabilities and the springboard for further growth in this segment. This is a strong start to 2022 and we will strive to keep the momentum going.”

[Riaz Haq]

According to details, SEA-ME-WE 6 cable will be live and ready for service by Q1 2025.

https://propakistani.pk/2022/02/25/pakistan-to-get-new-submarine-ca...

The Southeast Asia-Middle East-Western Europe 6 (SEA-ME-WE 6) is a 19,200 km-long submarine cable system connecting Pakistan with multiple countries between Singapore and France. SEA-ME-WE 6 will offer one of the lowest latencies available between Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Western Europe, transferring more than 100 Tbps, the equivalent of 40,000 high-definition videos each second.

The SEA-ME-WE 6 consortium includes Trans World Associates, Bangladesh Submarine Cable Company, Bharti Airtel Ltd. (India) Dhiraagu (Maldives), Djibouti Telecom, Mobily (Saudi Arabia), Orange (France), Singtel (Singapore), Sri Lanka Telecom, Telecom Egypt, Telekom Malaysia and Telin (Indonesia).

Speaking on the occasion Mr. Kamran Malik, President of Transworld said:

“To meet ever increasing demand of bandwidth and to play a pivotal role in the forthcoming era of 5G, Transworld has joined the SEA-ME-WE 6 consortium, to build the latest state of the art high-capacity submarine cable system.”

SEA-ME-WE 6 will have more fibre pairs and more than double the capacity as compared to previous SEA-ME-WE cables.

SEA-ME-WE 6 provides an additional layer of diversity and resilience for the high traffic density route between Asia and Europe, strengthening the overall network of each consortium partner, through trans-Egypt’s new geo-diversified crossings and landing points.

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https://www.totaltele.com/512525/Telin-Joins-SEA-ME-WE-6-Consortium...

The Southeast Asia-Middle East-Western Europe 6 (SEA-ME-WE 6) consortium announced today that construction has commenced on a 19,200 km-long submarine cable system connecting multiple countries between Singapore and France. SEA-ME-WE 6 will offer one of the lowest latencies available between Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Western Europe, transferring more than 100 terabytes per second, the equivalent of 40,000 high-definition videos each second.
The SEA-ME-WE 6 consortium includes Bangladesh Submarine Cable Company, Bharti Airtel Ltd. (India) Dhiraagu (Maldives), Djibouti Telecom, Mobily (Saudi Arabia), Orange (France), Singtel (Singapore), Sri Lanka Telecom, Telecom Egypt, Telekom Malaysia, Telin (Indonesia), and Trans World Associates (Pakistan).

[Riaz Haq]

Pakistan had almost 128 ISPs in 2007, with customers concentrated in the areas of Islamabad, Karachi, and Lahore. PTCL offers free dial-up Internet service to all its landline subscribers. In 2006 NayaTel began to offer Fiber to the User (FTTU) triple-services in the capital city of Islamabad. In 2005 Telekom Malaysia acquired 78 per cent equity in Multinet Pakistan,^[15] and announced the launch of ‘Project Ittehad.’The blueprint of the project suggested that the company would lay down 4,500-km high-speed and higher capacity fibre optic link, which would link 77 cities of the country. Project was estimated to be completed in 14 months and resulted in a highly accessible, fully redundant and resilient DWDM backbone with 20 gigabytes per second operational capacity and 48 cores of dark fibre. Multinet has 12,000 km long self-healing and scalable optical fiber network covering over 120 cities of Pakistan.^[16] Broadband access is available in major cities, wireless broadband Internet has been introduced by the Wireless local loop (WLL) networks in many major cities, and Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access (WiMAX) networks are being deployed. Most Pakistani companies, educational institutes, and government departments maintain web sites, which has further increased the demand for Internet access.^[17]

^{https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Internet_in_Pakistan}

[Riaz Haq]

‘China commits $10-$15 billion investments’

Pakistan has taken steps to address the outstanding concerns of Chinese investors, says Khalid Mansoor

By Mehtab Haider

https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/931815-china-commits-10-15-billion...

Pakistan has received commitments from China for getting investments of $10-$15 billion for various sectors, including for establishing industrial units at 2,200 acres of Gwadar Free Zone, exploring the possibility to establish oil refinery at Pasni and relocation of industries into seven important sectors, including textile, footwear and pharmaceuticals into upcoming the Special Economic Zones.

Adviser to Prime Minister on CPEC, Khalid Mansoor, on Monday said that Pakistan took steps to address the outstanding concerns of Chinese investors such as payment of dues to independent power producers, making revolving funds functional and changing Special Economic Zones (SEZ) Act. This change in SEZ Act will pave the way to bypass 37 approvals for federal and provincial governments for making investments in SEZs.

"The government has paid Rs50 billion to IPPs while another installment of the same amount will be given by the end of the ongoing month. The Revolving Fund has been made functional," PM's Adviser on China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) Khalid Mansoor said while addressing a news conference here on Monday. The Pakistani delegation under PM Imran Khan had returned from China after attending Olympics Winter 2022 and on the sidelines, they held meetings with Chinese leadership, including President Xi Jin Ping.

However, both sides could not make the progress on the much-awaited multi-billion-dollar project for the construction of Mainline-1 (ML-1) to upgrade the rail line from Peshawar to Karachi. The official sources said that the resolutions of outstanding concerns, including repayments for IPPs and making Revolving Fund functional, would result in paving the way for achieving progress on striking financing agreement on ML-1.

Meanwhile, Federal Minister for Planning and Development Asad Umar told The News on Monday that the prime minister held meetings with 19 Chinese companies, inviting them to invest in Pakistan. He said that they shared the detailed documents with Chinese authorities on investment potential and comparative advantage of Pakistan in seven sectors, including textile, pharmaceutical, automotive, information technology, footwear, furniture, and agriculture.

A consortium of three Chinese companies Huazhong Technology, China Communication Construction Company (CCCC) and Zhejiang Seaport Company will set up a paper and metal recycling Park at Gwadar, which will include multiple units at an estimated cost of $4.5 billion. The park is expected to create 40,000 employment opportunities.

A Chinese textile company will establish a Special Economic Zone, which will be a Chinese textile cluster, with an investment of USD250 million.

Three Chinese companies, SINOMACH, Royal Group and Zhengbang Group, have expressed interest in investing in agriculture sector projects, such as FMD free zones, agricultural mechanization, production of pesticides, poultry and cattle feed, etc.

In information technology sector, five Chinese companies have expressed intent to invest around USD2.4 billion. These include Hunan Sunwalk Construction Group (optic fiber network), Fourishtech (research lab and mobile phones assembling and parts manufacturing) and Neusoft Medical Systems (medical diagnostic equipment); Global Semiconductor Group (semiconductor testing and assembly); NAV E-Vehicles (Pvt) Ltd (electric vehicles). MoUs have already been signed for the first two projects.

In the energy and water sectors, two large Chinese companies, China Energy Group and Power China, expressed interest for investment in water sector projects. In the housing sector, three Chinese companies, China State Construction Engineering Corporation (CSCE), China Railway Group Limited and CHINAMEX have expressed interest in implementing various projects.

In the petroleum and mining sectors, three Chinese companies i.e. China Metallurgical Group Corporation (MCC), East Sea Group Limited and Consortium of Sino Infrastructure Hong Kong Orientals Times Limited (SIOT) and Beijing Century Industrial Development Co. Ltd (CENTINCO) expressed interest in investing in various projects, including refineries. Investment agreement on industrial cooperation was signed between China and Pakistan during the PM’s visit.

Khalid Mansoor said that a number of companies came up with investment proposals for the phase-2 of CPEC that would entail multi-billion dollar investments in Pakistan. He said most Chinese companies had shown their interest to invest in country. He said the prime minister had about 20 back-to-back meetings with top executives of Fortune-500 companies to attract investment.

The adviser said that the Chinese companies had been facilitated with a compliance regime and they were not required to obtain NOCs from 37 different departments before launching any investment project in the special economic zones. They would be required to comply with the Pakistani law that would be audited later and subjected to penalties and other fallbacks in case of violations of law.

He said that Chinese companies would also help develop agriculture of the country on modern lines to enhance per acre yield and seed quality. Some companies were interested to grow maize and soybean in Pakistan while another large corporation was interested in setting up an LNG storage at Karachi Port whereas a factory for value-added products would be set up on Lahore-Kasur Road in the textile sector.

The adviser said that another Chinese company, Royal Group, was interested in investing $50 million in the auto sector of the country. Chinese companies wanted to invest $200 million in making medical devices whereas an investment of $2 billion by the Chinese companies would be made for laying optical fiber.

Responding to a question on Pakistani request for additional financial support and debt rollover, Khalid Mansoor said they acknowledged it and would consider and get back to us.

[Riaz Haq]

PEACE Cable to Pakistan Now Ready For Service - Submarine Telecoms Forum


https://subtelforum.com/peace-cable-to-pakistan-now-ready-for-service/

Hong Kong – PEACE Cable International Network Co., Ltd (PEACE Cable) has completed the construction and laying of PEACE submarine cable infrastructure in Pakistan together with Cyber Internet Services (Cybernet), the leading Internet and data communication network service provider. The Pakistan-Egypt segment of PEACE has achieved final splicing, thus enabling connectivity from Karachi, Pakistan to Marseille, France ready for service.

The PEACE Pakistan-Egypt segment connects Karachi, Pakistan and Zafarana, Egypt, spanning a total length of 5,800 km. The landings of Karachi and Zafarana were completed in March and December 2021 respectively. In addition, the Mediterranean segment of PEACE linking Marseille, France, to Abu Talat, Egypt, a 3,200km long project, has also achieved RFS in March 2022. Therefore, the route from Pakistan to France of PEACE cable system is now fully constructed well and ready for use.

In 2019, the landing agreement was signed by Cybernet and PEACE Cable. Cybernet, the landing partner of PEACE in Pakistan, has built the country’s state-of-the-art, Cable Landing Station in Karachi, which will allow global carriers, Content Delivery Networks (CDNs), content providers and virtually all IT-enabled firms to tap into the submarine cable capacity at easily accessible interconnect points across Pakistan. Cybernet has the most robust fiber optic network across the country which will also facilitate access and boost business opportunities for PEACE in the Asian region.

Through the deployment of the PEACE submarine cable system, Pakistan will have access to high-speed, large-volume internet bandwidth with express connectivity to France. With its ultra-low latency design, this cable will reduce latency between Pakistan and France to 92 milliseconds. This will improve the response time of Internet-based applications and experience of Pakistani users while providing much-needed redundancy to Pakistan’s Internet infrastructure. The increased capacity will finally make it possible to provide ultra-fast bandwidth connections across Pakistani citizens, with speeds comparable to those in cities such as Hong Kong, Singapore and New York.

[Riaz Haq]

‘One Network’ catches the eye at IDEAS-22

https://tribune.com.pk/story/2386761/one-network-catches-the-eye-at...

The ‘One Network’ is an advanced communication project, under which 3,000 kilometres of underground fibre optic cable is being laid along the motorways across Pakistan. After the completion of the project, it would meet Pakistan's telecommunication requirements.

According to the One Network chief operating officer (COO), 2,000 kilometres of fibre optic cable haf been laid under the motorways communication infrastructure. People traveling on the motorways would get relief from the rush situations. It would also eliminate cash payments at toll plazas.

The system would also be linked to the motorway police to keep check on any violation of the traffic rules, such as wearing of seat belt and the speed limit. Besides, in case of emergency, people would get timely recovery or rescue assistance.

The ‘One Network’ covers M1 to M16 Motorways in Islamabad, Peshawar, Lahore, Pindi Bhattian, Multan, Sukkur, Karachi, Hyderabad, Sialkot, Dera Ismail Khan, Swat and Hazara, besides the Lahore Ring Road and Lahore-Faisalabad route.

The FWO is also conducting six diploma courses. According to the principal of this project, Col (retd) Atif, about 45 short courses of three to six months of duration were also offered. The graduated from here were associated with technical fields in Pakistan and other countries.

[Riaz Haq]

5G technology to be launched next year

https://www.nation.com.pk/06-Dec-2022/5g-technology-to-be-launched-...

The Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication is likely to launch 5G technology next year in the country to cope with the challenges of the digital world. The official of ministry of IT and telecommunication said that the provision of broadband services across the country was the topmost priority of the ministry of IT. He said that the ministry of IT through the Universal Service Fund (USF) had launched some 70 projects of optical fiber cable (OFC) and broadband infrastructure development in four provinces at a cost of Rs 65 billion. “All projects are underway in far-flung areas would be completed by June next year,” he added. “In the province of Sindh alone, 20 projects of NGBSD and OFC worth Rs16.3 billion have been started so far in 20 districts, including Tharparkar, Nawabshah, Khairpur, Larkana, Badin, Jacobabad, Shikarpur, Mirpurkhas, and Dadu,” the official said. He said that projects of connectivity of the un-served and underserved communities of Balochistan, Punjab, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) provinces had also been launched. He said, through USF aimed to connect all the citizens of the country as digitalisation had become a priority for businesses and communities. Under its Next Generation Optic Fiber (NG-OF) Network and Services programme, USF had contracted over 16,000km of Optic Fiber Cable (OFC) to benefit 31.5 million populations across the country.

[Riaz Haq]

Pak Optical Fiber Cable Project inked between Chinese Companies


https://pakobserver.net/pak-optical-fiber-cable-project-inked-betwe...

A Nationwide Optical Fiber Cable Network Project has been signed between PowerChina and Hunan Sunwalk Group, according to Gwadar Pro on Friday.

Phase 1, Lot 1 of the said project will aim to improve Pakistan’s telecommunication infrastructure for better interconnection with its neighboring countries.

Talking to Gwadar Pro, business manager Sunwalk Group said that the company plans to spend several billion dollars on Pakistan’s Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities to establish telecom infrastructure and fiber industry.

The nation’s broadband adoption will be increased for the digital revolution, which will benefit not only the business-to-business sector but also the government, enterprise firms, and end consumers, the official added.

Previously, Sunwalk Group CEO Pakistan, Lan held a meeting with Federal Minister of IT and Telecom, Syed Amin ul Haque. Lan informed the Minister regarding investment plans for establishing a statewide optical fiber network and facilitating the growth of broadband in Pakistan.

He stated that his organization is prepared to invest approximately $2 billion over the next 8 to 10 years.

[Riaz Haq]

China's Sunwalk Group intends to invest $2 bn in Pakistan telecom sector | Business Standard News

https://www.business-standard.com/article/international/china-s-sun...


China's Sunwalk Group intends to invest USD 2 billion in Cash-Strapped Pakistan's telecom sector for the deployment of an optical fiber network, Business Recorder reported.

The deployment of an optical fiber network will cover an area of 100,000 km over a period of time in Pakistan.

A high-level delegation of the Sunwalk Group led by chairman HOU called on Pakistan's Minister for IT and Telecom Syed Aminul Haque on Tuesday.

The meeting discussed about investment in telecom infrastructure, optical fiber cable (OFC), and right of way (RoW).

Sunwalk (Pvt) Ltd, is a telecom and technology-based multinational private Chinese enterprise that has developed multiple telecoms, and communication infrastructure projects in China and has acquired the TIP License in Pakistan, reported Business Recorder.

The company started deployment and invested about USD 5 million and has the plan to deploy 5,000 km OFC as the next step, according to Business Recorder.

[Riaz Haq]

#Starlink #Satellite #Broadband is Now Officially Registered in #Pakistan. It could potentially revolutionize Pakistan’s #telecommunications industry by providing faster and more affordable internet services, even in remote areas. https://propakistani.pk/2023/03/22/starlink-satellite-broadband-is-...

https://propakistani.pk/2023/03/22/starlink-satellite-broadband-is-...

In a significant development for Pakistan’s IT and Telecommunication sector, Director of Global Licensing and Market Activation at SpaceX, Ryan Goodnight, called on the Federal Minister of Information Technology and Telecommunication, Syed Aminul Haq, to discuss the registration of SpaceX’s Starlink in Pakist

According to the Minister, Starlink has registered itself with the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP).

The meeting was aimed at exploring how Starlink’s fastest and cheapest satellite internet services could pave the way for affordable broadband services in every corner of Pakistan.

The Minister expressed his optimism that Starlink’s services could significantly reduce the operational costs of telecom operators, even in remote areas where inactive mobile towers could be activated at low cost.

“Our main objective is to provide broadband services to every corner of Pakistan at affordable tariffs,” said the Minister, adding, “Starlink can play an important role in this regard.”

Ryan Goodnight thanked the Minister for his full cooperation and appreciated Pakistan’s progress in the IT and Telecommunication sector. “Basic steps are complete, and now we are ready to go fast,” Ryan added.

This development could potentially revolutionize Pakistan’s telecommunications industry by providing faster and more affordable internet services, even in remote areas. The successful implementation of Starlink’s services in Pakistan could be a significant step towards achieving the goal of a connected Pakistan.