Qatar's Ooredoo Signs Iraq Fiber Corridor Deal to Connect Gulf-to-Europe Network

en.Wedoany.com Reported - On October 7, OFN, the international communications business under Qatari telecom operator Ooredoo Group, signed a dark fiber purchase agreement with Iraqi fiber network operator iQ Networks, planning to purchase multiple pairs of dark fiber routes traversing Iraq to extend the planned FIG Gulf submarine cable system to Turkey and Europe. The two parties signed the agreement in Doha, Qatar. The scope of cooperation covers terrestrial fiber transmission corridors within Iraq and dovetails with the Iraq landing cooperation arrangement for the FIG submarine cable previously signed by OFN. Project implementation remains subject to government, regulatory and other necessary approvals.

Under the agreement, iQ Networks will provide OFN with multiple pairs of dark fiber within Iraq for establishing cross-border international data transmission routes. OFN is responsible for integrating the relevant terrestrial fiber resources into its international communications network, forming a terrestrial extension route from the Gulf submarine cable landing station through Iraq to Turkey and Europe. The agreement specifies the dark fiber procurement target and the cross-border transmission direction, but the two parties did not disclose the total length of the procured routes, the specific number of fiber pairs, the contract value or the commercial operation date.

The FIG submarine cable is being developed by OFN and is planned to connect seven countries: Qatar, Oman, the UAE, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Iraq. The system is designed for a maximum transmission capacity of 720 Tbps, uses 24 fiber pairs, and is planned to connect coastal landing nodes via a Gulf ring network. OFN previously reached a separate submarine cable landing cooperation arrangement with Iraq Telecom and Postal Company (ITPC) covering the landing of the FIG system in Iraq. This agreement with iQ Networks covers the terrestrial transmission portion, and the two agreements cover different network infrastructure.

The planned cross-border transmission path will consist of the FIG Gulf submarine cable, Iraqi landing facilities and the domestic dark fiber network, forming a data transmission corridor connecting Turkey and Europe via Iraq. OFN plans to provide international transmission capacity to telecom operators, cloud service companies, data center operators, AI infrastructure service providers and large internet companies. Relevant customers can configure optical transmission equipment according to their own network construction requirements and scale capacity usage based on business needs.

The project is currently still in the stage of agreement implementation and network deployment preparation. OFN and iQ Networks have not yet announced the specific delivery batches of the routes within Iraq, the locations of cross-border interconnection nodes or the system testing plan. The construction, connection and commercial service launch of the FIG submarine cable landing facilities and the Iraqi terrestrial transmission network will proceed in accordance with relevant approvals and implementation arrangements.