To meet the growing demand for data-intensive digital applications such as cloud computing and artificial intelligence, Telecom Egypt and NaiTel, a Jordanian telecoms service provider and a key subsidiary of Aqaba Digital Hub (ADH), have completed the installation of an express subsea cable, marking the first direct link between the two countries in 25 years.
Coral Bridge, a 15-kilometre undersea cable infrastructure with 48 fibre pairs, was first announced in January 2024. It successfully landed in Taba, Egypt, before being laid across the Gulf of Aqaba and finally landing in Aqaba, Jordan.
It seeks to provide an express high-fiber-count digital link across the gulf, marking a significant milestone in the region's digital infrastructure development, according to a statement from Telecom Egypt.
Coral Bridge uses both countries' strategic locations and Telecom Egypt's enormous undersea infrastructure to enable seamless further connection across Asia, Africa, and Europe, benefiting local, regional, and global businesses.
The telco went on to state that it is capable of delivering more than one petabit of data traffic while supporting a variety of infrastructure demands. Furthermore, its small length greatly minimises latency and data costs.
Coral Bridge is the first telecoms subsea system to land at Telecom Egypt's new cable landing station in Taba, as part of the company's broader, recently created international digital infrastructure.
In Jordan, the cable landed at ADH's Tier III carrier-neutral facility in Aqaba, supporting businesses with redundancy and recovery strategies, including companies and hyperscalers hosted in the data centre.
Eyad Abu Khorma, founder and CEO of ADH, described the cable as a strategic asset aimed at regional market access.
Khorma said: “Coral Bridge is more than just a cable—it’s a strategic asset for the entire region. It lands at ADH’s carrier-neutral facility in Jordan, enhances regional market access, featuring one of Middle East and North Africa’s largest data centres.
'By enabling a direct digital bridge between Aqaba-Jordan and Sinai Peninsula-Egypt, we’re strengthening regional resilience and opening new opportunities for high-performance infrastructure and sovereign connectivity.”
Mohamed Nasr, managing director and CEO at Telecom Egypt, commented: "The strategic proximity between Taba and Aqaba creates a vital opportunity to establish a robust corridor for data connectivity across the Middle East and Europe.
“Through our collaboration with NaiTel, leveraging their carrier-neutral ecosystem in Aqaba via the Aqaba Digital Hub, the Coral Bridge subsea cable system will aggregate substantial regional traffic and channel it through Egypt’s diverse terrestrial routes to the Mediterranean Sea.
“This critical infrastructure is key to meeting the region’s growing data demands, supporting data centre expansion, and enhancing the resilience of subsea cable networks in the region."
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