Tunis — "Tunisie-Télécom" inaugurated, on Friday, its own, 100% Tunisian, submarine fibre cable dubbed "Hannibal."

With an initial capacity of 40 gigabits per second, expandable to 3,200 Gbps, the submarine cable, connecting Kelibia to Italian city of Mazara, is one of the most important telecommunications connections in the Mediterranean covering 180 kilometres. The project required an investment of nearly 16 million dinars.

The laying out of a submarine cable for Tunisia has become an unavoidable choice to provide the country with a transmission capacity that meets present and future needs.

The submarine cable will satisfy Tunisia's communication needs as well as significantly increasing the number of broadband Internet lines (ADSL).

The number of subscribers to ADSL reached, by the end of September 2009, approximately 313,000.

The cable will also allow Tunisia to secure its international connections, increase the attractiveness of its Internet offer, improve fluidity of navigation on global websites and meet the demands of Tunisian companies wishing to develop their exporting activities. (source TAP)