Faster internet as du confirms new subsea cables to link UAE, Pakistan

Dubai: Emirates Integrated Telecommunications Company (EITC), the parent company of du, is driving the progress of the nation by facilitating the launch of a new submarine cable between the UAE and Pakistan.

The cables are expected to provide faster internet connectivity speeds and increase the amount of data flowing in and out of the UAE and significantly enhance redundancy in operations.

Bandwidth capacity is expected to increase with the launch of fifth generation of mobile cellular network (5G). Almost all of the internet data is transmitted through the submarine cables rather than satellite communication systems.

These fibre optic cables are specially made to withstand shark bites, harsh environment and pressure and are laid underneath the sea but are susceptible to natural disasters and sabotage.

A number of projects are underway to increase the bandwidth capacity. According to statistics, there are over 420 submarine cables in service currently, stretching over 700,000 miles (1.1 million km) around the world.