en.Wedoany.com Reported - Recently, Maltese telecommunications operator GO launched the MOGOSC project to modernize the GO-1 submarine cable connecting Malta and Sicily, Italy. The project is co-funded by the European Union's Connecting Europe Facility Digital Programme, aiming to enhance Malta's international communication capacity, cybersecurity level, and digital infrastructure resilience to mainland Europe.
The GO-1 submarine cable is one of Malta's key international communication assets, spanning approximately 290 kilometers and connecting St. Paul's Bay in Malta with Mazara del Vallo in Sicily. It provides Malta with a high-capacity communication path directly to mainland Europe and carries a significant portion of the country's international internet and telecommunications traffic. The MOGOSC project will replace existing submarine line terminal equipment at both landing stations, deploying a next-generation transmission platform to enable higher capacity and enhanced security capabilities on the existing cable without relaying the entire physical route. The total eligible cost of the project is €1.56 million, with the EU contributing €778,636.50, covering 50% co-funding. After the upgrade, the initial aggregate capacity of the system will be no less than 400 Gbps, with the ability to scale to several terabits per second.
The project is scheduled to begin deployment in the second half of 2026, with the upgraded system expected to enter service by mid-2027.
Malta is a typical island digital economy, heavily reliant on submarine cable exports for international communication. After the GO-1 upgrade, cloud services, cross-border enterprise communications, data center connectivity, financial services, online government affairs, and emerging digital applications will gain a more stable foundation. For operators, the core of such upgrades lies in enhancing the long-term availability of existing submarine communication assets, replacing outdated terminal equipment with new platforms meeting European strategic infrastructure requirements, while integrating cybersecurity, supplier compliance, and capacity expansion capabilities into a single modernization effort. GO has initiated a technical partner solicitation process, and supplier participation will be subject to EU cybersecurity requirements.
While this project is not large in scale, its significance for Malta's communication network lies in international export assurance and future capacity expansion. As usage of cloud computing, artificial intelligence applications, remote work, content distribution, and cross-border enterprise systems grows, island economies' demands for submarine cable capacity and resilience will continue to rise. After the GO-1 modernization, Malta's digital connectivity to mainland Europe will have a higher capacity foundation, providing more stable underlying support for subsequent multi-cable redundancy, data center business hosting, and international enterprise network services.
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