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Cable type | Submarine Fibre-optic |
---|---|
Predecessor | SEA-ME-WE, SEA-ME-WE 2, SEA-ME-WE 3, SEA-ME-WE 4 [1] |
Construction beginning | 24 September 2014 [2] |
Construction finished | 15 December 2016 [3] |
Design capacity | 36.6 Tbit/s (12.2 Tbit/s per fiber pair) [4] |
Landing points | Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Myanmar, Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, United Arab Emirates, Oman, Qatar, Djibuti, Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Italy, Turkey, France |
Area served | South East Asia, Middle East Asia, Western Europe |
Owner(s) | Consortium |
Website |
www |
South East Asia–Middle East–Western Europe 5 (SEA-ME-WE 5) is an optical fibre submarine communications cable system that carries telecommunications between Singapore and France. [5]
The cable is approximately 20,000 kilometres long and provides broadband communications with a design capacity of 24 Tbit/s (over 3 fiber pairs) between South East Asia, the Indian subcontinent, the Middle East and Europe. [6]
The portion from France to Sri Lanka was constructed by Alcatel-Lucent Submarine Networks (ASN) and the portion from Sri Lanka to Singapore by NEC. [7] Construction commenced on 6 June 2014 and completed in December 2016. [1] [8] [5] An official launch event was held in Honolulu, Hawaii on 16 January 2017. [9]
The design capacity was upgraded from 24 Tbit/s to 36.6 Tbit/s in September 2019 using Ciena's GeoMesh Extreme 300G technology. [10]
Location | Operator & Technical Partner |
---|---|
Toulon, France | Orange S.A. [11] |
Catania, Italy | Telecom Italia Sparkle [12] |
Marmaris, Turkey | Turk Telekom [13] |
Abu Talat, Egypt
Zafarana, Egypt |
Telecom Egypt [14] |
Yanbu, Saudi Arabia | Saudi Telecom Company [15] |
Al Hudaydah, Yemen | TeleYemen [16] |
Haramous CLS, Djibouti | Djibouti Telecom [17] |
Qalhat, Oman | Ooredoo Oman [18] |
Fujairah, UAE | du EITC [19] |
Karachi, Pakistan | Transworld Associates [20] |
Matara, Sri Lanka | Sri Lanka Telecom [21] |
Ngwe Saung, Myanmar | Myanma Posts and Telecommunications [22] |
Kuakata, Bangladesh | Bangladesh Submarine Cable Company Limited [22] |
Medan, Indonesia
Dumai, Indonesia |
Telkom Indonesia [23] |
Malacca, Malaysia | Telekom Malaysia Berhad [24] |
Tuas, Singapore | Singtel [25] |
In November 2022, it was reported that SEA-ME-WE 5 was damaged on land near one of its landing stations in Egypt. This caused significant traffic disruptions lasting several hours to many countries across Africa, Asia and the Middle East. [26] [27]
In April 2024, the SEA-ME-WE 5 cable developed a fault in the straits of Malacca due to water penetrating the insulation of the cable, causing a short circuit which led to a complete loss of communication. As a result, there is no traffic passing between Kuakata, Bangladesh and the final landing point in Tuas, Singapore. [28] Repairs to the cable have not yet begun due to administrative delays from the Indonesian Government. The repair process is expected to commence in the end of May. [29] BSCPLC, the state-owned submarine cable company of Bangladesh, has stated that according to the latest repair agenda of the consortium, the cable is assumed to be reconnected by June 7. Although, no updates have been provided regarding the issue since then. [30]
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