Broadband penetration in the Middle East is to double every year for the next five years as consumers sign up to gain access to more online content, according to the world's largest submarine cable network operator.
To meet that demand, telecommunications operators will need to diversify and evenly distribute traffic across wireless, fibre-optic and submarine cable networks, said Vinod Kumar, the president and chief operating officer for Tata Communications.
"What that means is that you will need very reliable and significant upstream connectivity to the web as well as connectivity between East and West, because content is not just concentrated in the US, it's becoming increasingly diverse," Mr Kumar said.
To help manage the surge in broadband demand that regional telecoms expect, Tata Communications is investing US$200 million (Dh734.6m) to build a new submarine cable network connecting five Middle East countries over the next two years.
Submarine cables are the backbone of the internet and are the width of a pen. The fibre-optic cables are used to transmit most of the data for internet use and telephone calls around the world.
Tata's investment was a strategic initiative, Mr Kumar said. The region's telecoms industry was underserviced and growing rapidly, driven by a booming demand for support in India, the Middle East and Africa.
The company's network will connect carriers in Qatar, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Oman and the UAE, he said. The construction would be contracted to Tyco Telecommunications, based in the US.
Alan Mauldin, an analyst with Telegeography, a telecoms consultancy that specialises in undersea networks, said that by adding more cable, the region's internet would become more reliable and resilient to possible damage that in the past had resulted in major financial losses in economies from Egypt to India.
In recent years, the shortage of international connections has been highlighted by two major internet disruptions between the Middle East and Europe, both caused by lines becoming snagged in ship anchors.
Mr Mauldin said newly installed cables could also be upgraded as needed, adding that several new cables would be laid on the Middle East sea floor this year, increasing the amount of capacity from 1,990 to 28,230 gigabytes a second.
"This is something that will not be a five-year project that will make a lot of money, it will be major infrastructure investment that will support the region for a long time," he said.
"If users have a 1 megabit connection at home today, there's going to be a demand for faster connections as more new users come online each year."
Mr Kumar said Tata would charge carriers to use an undisclosed amount of broadband capacity over the lifetime of the submarine cables.
After the carriers use up their allotted capacity, which usually takes between 12 and 18 months, they have the option of buying their traffic volume costs at market prices.
"It's a calculated bet in the region for us," Mr Kumar said. "It's a lot like how airlines hedge their fuel purchases."
If all goes to plan, he said he expected to see his investment return profit margins of between 20 and 30 per cent over the lifetime of the submarine network.
Each submarine cable typically lasts about 20 years and the company is in talks with other countries to connect.
"If you look at the global undersea world, more than 60 per cent of the traffic that gets carried on the submarine cable network tends to originate from broadband users that access global content," Mr Kumar said.
Etisalat and du have made moves in recent years to join consortiums in the building of submarine cables to ensure that the fast-growing local internet market will be undisrupted.
dgeorgecosh@thenational.ae
Richard Jewell
Director: Clint Eastwood
Stars: Paul Walter Hauser, Sam Rockwell, Brandon Stanley
Two-and-a-half out of five stars
More on Quran memorisation:
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3ECompany%20name%3A%20CarbonSifr%3Cbr%3EStarted%3A%202022%3Cbr%3EBased%3A%20Dubai%3Cbr%3EFounders%3A%20Onur%20Elgun%2C%20Mustafa%20Bosca%20and%20Muhammed%20Yildirim%3Cbr%3ESector%3A%20Climate%20tech%3Cbr%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%241%20million%20raised%20in%20seed%20funding%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The Kingfisher Secret
Anonymous, Penguin Books
Iftar programme at the Sheikh Mohammed Centre for Cultural Understanding
Established in 1998, the Sheikh Mohammed Centre for Cultural Understanding was created with a vision to teach residents about the traditions and customs of the UAE. Its motto is ‘open doors, open minds’. All year-round, visitors can sign up for a traditional Emirati breakfast, lunch or dinner meal, as well as a range of walking tours, including ones to sites such as the Jumeirah Mosque or Al Fahidi Historical Neighbourhood.
Every year during Ramadan, an iftar programme is rolled out. This allows guests to break their fast with the centre’s presenters, visit a nearby mosque and observe their guides while they pray. These events last for about two hours and are open to the public, or can be booked for a private event.
Until the end of Ramadan, the iftar events take place from 7pm until 9pm, from Saturday to Thursday. Advanced booking is required.
For more details, email openminds@cultures.ae or visit www.cultures.ae
Dhadak 2
Director: Shazia Iqbal
Starring: Siddhant Chaturvedi, Triptii Dimri
Rating: 1/5
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors
Power: Combined output 920hp
Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km
On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025
Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
BRIEF SCORES
England 353 and 313-8 dec
(B Stokes 112, A Cook 88; M Morkel 3-70, K Rabada 3-85)
(J Bairstow 63, T Westley 59, J Root 50; K Maharaj 3-50)
South Africa 175 and 252
(T Bavuma 52; T Roland-Jones 5-57, J Anderson 3-25)
(D Elgar 136; M Ali 4-45, T Roland-Jones 3-72)
Result: England won by 239 runs
England lead four-match series 2-1
WORLD'S%2010%20HIGHEST%20MOUNTAINS
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Results
International 4, United States 1
Justin Thomas and Tiger Woods (US) beat Marc Leishman and Joaquin Niemann (International) 4 and 3.
Adam Hadwin and Sungjae Im (International) beat Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay (US) 2 up.
Adam Scott and Byeong Hun An (International) beat Bryson DeChambeau and Tony Finau (US) 2 and 1.
Hideki Matsuyama and C.T. Pan (International) beat Webb Simpson and Patrick Reed (US) 1 up.
Abraham Ancer and Louis Oosthuizen (International) beat Dustin Johnson and Gary Woodland (US) 4 and 3.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Series info
Test series schedule 1st Test, Abu Dhabi: Sri Lanka won by 21 runs; 2nd Test, Dubai: Play starts at 2pm, Friday-Tuesday
ODI series schedule 1st ODI, Dubai: October 13; 2nd ODI, Abu Dhabi: October 16; 3rd ODI, Abu Dhabi: October 18; 4th ODI, Sharjah: October 20; 5th ODI, Sharjah: October 23
T20 series schedule 1st T20, Abu Dhabi: October 26; 2nd T20, Abu Dhabi: October 27; 3rd T20, Lahore: October 29
Tickets Available at www.q-tickets.com
Stat Fourteen Fourteen of the past 15 Test matches in the UAE have been decided on the final day. Both of the previous two Tests at Dubai International Stadium have been settled in the last session. Pakistan won with less than an hour to go against West Indies last year. Against England in 2015, there were just three balls left.
Key battle - Azhar Ali v Rangana Herath Herath may not quite be as flash as Muttiah Muralitharan, his former spin-twin who ended his career by taking his 800th wicket with his final delivery in Tests. He still has a decent sense of an ending, though. He won the Abu Dhabi match for his side with 11 wickets, the last of which was his 400th in Tests. It was not the first time he has owned Pakistan, either. A quarter of all his Test victims have been Pakistani. If Pakistan are going to avoid a first ever series defeat in the UAE, Azhar, their senior batsman, needs to stand up and show the way to blunt Herath.
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Monster Hunter: World
Capcom
PlayStation 4, Xbox One
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
UAE tour of the Netherlands
UAE squad: Rohan Mustafa (captain), Shaiman Anwar, Ghulam Shabber, Mohammed Qasim, Rameez Shahzad, Mohammed Usman, Adnan Mufti, Chirag Suri, Ahmed Raza, Imran Haider, Mohammed Naveed, Amjad Javed, Zahoor Khan, Qadeer Ahmed
Fixtures and results:
Monday, UAE won by three wickets
Wednesday, 2nd 50-over match
Thursday, 3rd 50-over match
THE CLOWN OF GAZA
Director: Abdulrahman Sabbah
Starring: Alaa Meqdad
Rating: 4/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs
Engine: 3-litre twin-turbo V6
Power: 400hp
Torque: 475Nm
Transmission: 9-speed automatic
Price: From Dh215,900
On sale: Now
match info
Union Berlin 0
Bayern Munich 1 (Lewandowski 40' pen, Pavard 80')
Man of the Match: Benjamin Pavard (Bayern Munich)
MATCH INFO
Real Madrid 3 (Kroos 4', Ramos 30', Marcelo 37')
Eibar 1 (Bigas 60')
