Indian data center and ISP Sify Technologies has signed a deal to land the Gulf Bridge International (GBI) cable in Mumbai.
The company, which will also build a landing station for the cable, is the first non-telco to win a major cable landing contract in India.
The GBI cable system will connect all Gulf countries to each other and provide onward connectivity to India. Due to launch in 2011, it has a design capacity of up to 5 Tbps.
Sify said access to the system would allow it serve fast-growing emerging markets in the Middle East and Africa. The company would combine its existing data center, network and application services with the new cable, CEO Raju Vegesna said.
GBI CEO Ahmed Mekky said the agreement would enable GBI to fulfill its goal of connecting the world to the Gulf through the eastern route to India.
The GBI cable is backed by Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) investors.