South East Asia–Middle East–Western Europe 6 (SEA-ME-WE 6) is an in-progress

optical fibre An optical fiber, or optical fibre, is a flexible glass or plastic fiber that can transmit light from one end to the other. Such fibers find wide usage in fiber-optic communications, where they permit transmission over longer distances and at ...

submarine communications cable A submarine communications cable is a cable laid on the seabed between land-based stations to carry telecommunication signals across stretches of ocean and sea. The first submarine communications cables were laid beginning in the 1850s and car ...

system that would carry telecommunications between

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, southeastern region of Asia, consisting of the regions that are situated south of China, east of the Indian subcontinent, and northwest of the Mainland Au ...

, the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

, and

Western Europe Western Europe is the western region of Europe. The region's extent varies depending on context. The concept of "the West" appeared in Europe in juxtaposition to "the East" and originally applied to the Western half of the ancient Mediterranean ...

. Construction began in February 2022. The expected cable length is 19,200 km and it has a design capacity of 126 Tbit/s (12.6 Tbit/s per fiber pair), using SDM technology.

Bharti Airtel Bharti Airtel Limited is an Indian Multinational corporation, multinational Telecommunications in India, telecommunications company based in New Delhi. It operates in 18 countries across South Asia and Africa, as well as the Channel Islands. ...

, Bahrain Telecommunications Company (Batelco), Bangladesh Submarine Cable Company Limited (BSCCL),

China Unicom China United Network Communications Group (China Unicom) is a Chinese state-owned telecommunications operator. Originally founded (on January 6 2009) as a wireless paging and GSM mobile operator, it currently provides a range of services inclu ...

Dhiraagu Dhiraagu () is the first Maldivian telecommunications company, which was founded in 1988. The company was created as a joint venture of the Maldivian government and Cable & Wireless and had a monopoly on the entire industry in the country unt ...

Djibouti Telecom Djibouti Telecom (Djibouti Télécommunication Co.) is the government-run telecommunications monopoly in Djibouti, Djibouti. It provides landline, mobile, and internet services to the general public. The firm has its head offices and outlets in ...

Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational corporation and technology company, technology conglomerate headquartered in Redmond, Washington. Founded in 1975, the company became influential in the History of personal computers#The ear ...

Mobily Mobily () is a Saudi Arabian telecommunications services company that offers fixed line, mobile telephony, and Internet services. The company was established in 2004, and, in the summer of that year, won the bid for Saudi Arabia's second GSM ...

Orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower ** Orange juice *Orange (colour), the color of an orange fruit, occurs between red and yellow in the vi ...

PCCW PCCW Limited (formerly known as Pacific Century CyberWorks Limited) is a Hong Kong–based information and communication technology (ICT) and telecommunications company. The company is the major owner of telecommunications company HKT Limited, ...

Singtel Singapore Telecommunications Limited, trading as Singtel, is a Singaporean telecommunications conglomerate, the country's principal fixed-line operator and one of the four major mobile network operators operating in the country. Overview T ...

Sri Lanka Telecom Sri Lanka Telecom PLC (, ), doing business as SLTMobitel, is the national telecommunications services provider in Sri Lanka and one of the country's largest companies with an annual turnover in excess of Rs 100 billion. The company provides dom ...

Telecom Egypt Telecom Egypt (), is Egypt's primary telephone company. It started in 1854 with the first telegraph line in Egypt. In 1998, it replaced the former Arab Republic of Egypt National Telecommunication Organization (ARENTO). The company has a fixed- ...

Telekom Malaysia Telekom Malaysia Berhad or simply TM is a Malaysian telecommunications company that was founded in 1984. Beginning as the national telecommunications company for fixed line, radio, and television broadcasting services, it has evolved to become ...

Telin PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia International or Telkom International, and commonly abbreviated as Telin, is an Indonesian carrier services and investment company and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Telkom Indonesia. It is an international teleco ...

and Transworld (TWA) are members of the SEA-ME-WE-6 Consortium. In May 2023, it was reported the U.S. government had objected to Chinese participation in the cable due to security concerns, and construction was moved from Huawei Marine Networks to a U.S. consortium, SubCom. Due to rising geopolitical tensions between China and the US, two Chinese operators, namely

China Telecom China Telecom Corporation Limited (CT) is a Chinese telecommunications company. It is one of the publicly traded red chip companies of the state-owned China Telecommunications Corporation. The company's H shares have been traded on the Sto ...

and

China Mobile China Mobile is the trade name of both China Mobile Limited and its ultimate controlling shareholder, China Mobile Communications Group Co., Ltd., a Chinese State-owned enterprises of China, state-owned telecommunicationsStrait deals ''The Econ ...

withdrew from the consortium. They are planning a rival cable with

. , the cable has been installed at landing points in France, Maldives, Sri Lanka and India, with more landings to be completed prior to the expected initiation of service in Q1 2026.

Landing points and operators

Al Khaleej Branch

Al Khaleej is a branch of the upcoming SEA-ME-WE 6 cable connecting the UAE to Bahrain, Oman and Qatar. Jointly operated by

Batelco Bahrain Telecommunication Company BSC, trading as Batelco (), is the principal telecommunications company in Bahrain. The company's headquarters are in Bahrain and the company is listed on the Bahrain Bourse. The Chairman of the Board is Abdu ...

and

Etisalat by e& e&, formerly branded as Etisalat, is an Emirati state-owned telecommunications company. It is the 16th largest in the world by subscribers. On 31 December 2021, Etisalat reported consolidated revenue of United Arab Emirates dirham, AED 53.3 bil ...

, it will be 1,400 km long and ready for service in Q2 2026.

References

External links

Leveraging Submarine Cables for Political Gain: U.S. Responses to Chinese Strategy
by Lane Burdette, May 5, 2021 {{Submarine communications cables in the Mediterranean Sea Submarine communications cables in the Indian Ocean Submarine communications cables in the Arabian Sea Submarine communications cables in the Mediterranean Sea Submarine communications cables in the Red Sea Telecommunications in India