Flag to set up stations in Yemen

Flag Telecom, a Reliance group company, is setting up two landing stations in Yemen, one each at Al Hudaydah and Al Ghaidah, for Falcon. This will make Falcon the first international cable system in Yemen.

The Republic of Yemen's International Telecommunication Company (TeleYemen) is investing in Falcon terabits cable system. TeleYemen has also purchased capacity on the fibre-optic cable.

For the first time, customers in Yemen will have direct access to global telecommunications and internet services. The landing stations will also enable TeleYemen to provide infrastructure to meet the increasing demand for broadband and e-commerce applications.

The country's economy is growing fast, mainly driven by the oil, gas and tourism sectors.

Walid Irshaid, president - Middle East and Africa, Flag Telecom, said in a press release: "We are delighted to welcome TeleYemen as a landing partner for the Falcon cable system. Flag is committed to meeting the global communications needs of its partners in the region and the formal signing of these agreements marks another milestone in our relationship with TeleYemen. Falcon is designed to unlock the broadband opportunity in a region previously underserved by international connectivity, bringing a many-fold increase in capacity over existing regional links. It will enable TeleYemen to meet the demand for advanced communication services and with very high levels of network reliability."

Flag Telecom has already signed similar agreements with other telecommunications operators in Bharain, Eqypt, India, Kuwait, Oman, Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

Falcon, a new high-capacity resilient loop cable system, is being installed to provide multiple landings throughout the Gulf region, with submarine links stretching from the Middle East to Egypt in the west and, initially, to India in the east.

Across India, the Falcon system can interconnect seamlessly with India's domestic networks, including Reliance's 80,000 km high-speed domestic infrastructure, allowing customers to access major cities and towns, according to a press release.

Flag owns and manages an extensive optical fibre network spanning four continents and connecting key business markets in Asia, Europe, the Middle East and the US.