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PCCW Global, Orange and PEACE Cable International team up to deploy PEACE cable to connect Europe to Asia via East Africa by 2021
19 Sep, 2019
HKT (SEHK:6823) – HONG KONG, September 17, 2019 - PCCW Global, the international operating division of HKT, Hong Kong’s premier telecommunications service provider, Orange, the leading telecommunications operator in France and a major investor in over 40 submarine cables in the world, and PEACE Cable International, a leading international submarine cable operator, today signed an agreement during the Submarine Networks World event in Singapore to deploy the Pakistan and East Africa Connecting Europe (PEACE) submarine cable system, with a 12,000km ultra-low latency high-speed cable system that will relieve critical congestion on one of the busiest data routes in the world. This trilateral agreement among PCCW Global, Orange, and PEACE Cable International follows the signature of a memorandum of understanding that was announced during the Capacity Europe international telecommunications event in November 2018 in London. In terms of the cooperation, Orange will supply and operate the cable landing station in Marseille, as well as linking the system to one of the city’s major data centers - creating a connectivity gateway across Europe and on to the Americas through existing transatlantic networks. PEACE is a privately owned cable system connecting three of the largest and most populous continents in the world - Asia, Africa and Europe. Increased global demand for connectivity is resulting in congestion on the busy route. In addition, Africa has the fastest-growing youth population in the world and is a market particularly ripe for investment because of the rapidly growing number of Internet users and a corresponding increased demand for connectivity. When complete in 2021, the PEACE cable system will provide the shortest and most direct data route from North Asia to Europe, combined with exceptionally low latency which is vitally important for a wide array of commercial and consumer applications. The backbone of the project will interconnect Pakistan, Djibouti, Egypt, Kenya and France, providing critical interconnections to key Asian, European, and African economic corridors, with additional planned landing points and extensions. Mr. Marc Halbfinger, Chief Executive Officer, PCCW Global, said, “Our collaboration with Orange is a critically important step towards bringing PEACE online and we trust the capabilities and vast experience of their teams in France to provide a successful and timely delivery of the European leg of the project. Orange has vast experience in submarine cable infrastructure development. So we are confident that Orange will not only successfully provide the necessary cable infrastructure in France, but also benefit from being one of the first major users of the PEACE cable to connect important and growing traffic from Africa to Europe.” Mr. Jérôme Barré, Chief Executive Officer, Orange, said, “For Orange, PEACE is a major investment as it will provide greater route diversity, improved connection security and guaranteed support for increased capacity across all regions in the Indian Ocean zone, particularly Réunion and Mayotte.” Mr. Wu Qianjun, Chief Executive Officer, PEACE Cable International, said, “The PEACE project has been progressed very well and the equipment manufacturing has been achieved more than 60%. The system will be ready for service on time based on its schedule. We are confident that PEACE will provide low-cost capacity for those fast growing regions and enhance the routing diversity in Asia, Africa and Europe.” More at
www.pccwglobal.com and
www.hkt.com.
About Orange Orange is one of the world’s leading telecommunications carriers with a turnover of €41 billion in 2018 and 148,000 employees as at 30 June 2019, of which 89,000 are in France. The Group has a total customer base of more than 266 million customers at 30 June 2019, including 207 million mobile customers and 20 million fixed broadband customers worldwide. The Group operates in 27 countries. Orange is also one of the world leaders in providing telecommunication services to multinational companies under the Orange Business Services brand. In March 2015, the Group presented its new strategic plan Essentials2020, which places customers’ experience at the heart of its strategy with the aim of allowing them to benefit fully from the digital universe and the power of its new generation networks. For more information (online and from your mobile):
www.orange.com,
www.orange-business.com.
About PEACE PEACE Cable International Network CO., LTD, founded in 2018 and registered in Hong Kong. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hengtong, a Global Information and Energy Network Service Provider. PEACE aims to be leading international submarine cable operator. PEACE submarine cable system, refers to Pakistan & East Africa Connecting Europe, privately owned cable system that provides an open, flexible and carrier-neutral services for its customers. PEACE is targeted for completion in 2021. HENGTONG is listed on Shanghai Stock Exchange in August 2003, HENGTONG Optic-Electric Co., LTD. (SH.600487), with a market share of 15% of the global market, ranking No.2 in China, serves over 30 countries. Hengtong will continue adhering to the vision of “becoming a world-renowned brand and international outstanding enterprise” and making further contributions to the development of global optical communication and power transmission.
