Telecom Egypt to launch subsea 'HARP' system connecting Africa with Europe by 2023
The HARP system will connect Africa’s East and West bounds to Europe, from South Africa to Italy and France along the continent’s East Coast, and to Portugal along its West Coast
Telecom Egypt, Egypt’s first integrated telecom operator and one of the largest subsea cable operators in the region, announced on Wednesday its plans to launch the Hybrid African Ring Path (HARP) by 2023.
HAPR is a new subsea system that will outline the African continent, forming the shape of a harp that will connect coastal and landlocked African countries to Europe through the company’s widespread terrestrial and subsea infrastructure, the company said in a statement.
Through HARP, Telecom Egypt will offer a wide range of capacity solutions, up to dark fiber, based on a layer two and layer three architecture that can connect multiple points on the system to one another.
The system will connect Africa’s East and West bounds to Europe, from South Africa to Italy and France along the continent’s East Coast, and to Portugal along its West Coast.
Meanwhile, highly reliable terrestrial routes will connect the landing points within South Africa, Europe, and Egypt, forming a complete ring around the continent.
The HARP system will leverage its diverse and resilient subsea segments to branch out to multiple potential landing points.
The company added that the HARP’s planned routes will cross the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt, with multiple ring protection topologies, and will extend to include premium routes on both banks of the Suez Canal.
Sharm El-Sheikh, located at the southern tip of Sinai, will serve as a new landing point and will be connected to coastal cities on the Gulf of Suez, forming a hybrid terrestrial and subsea fiber connectivity solution between landing points in Egypt.
Adel Hamed, TE’s Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, said that HARP will provide seamless connectivity services to the African continent by integrating Telecom Egypt’s current and planned projects to offer end-to-end connectivity solutions.
He added that HARP will enable Telecom Egypt’s plans to establish open points of presence in various new locations in Africa and Europe to serve its enterprise and wholesale customers.
It will also support the digital transformation efforts exerted throughout African nations and expand the company’s international footprint, according to Hamed.
https://english.ahram.org.eg/News/405244.aspx