The Israeli business site, Globes Online, has announced that Bezeq International’s new international cable has begun full commercial operation, following two months of performance trials. This cable, which is adaptable to interfaces of 100Gbps, is the first subsea link wholly owned by an Israel operator.
The 2,297km cable links Tel Aviv, Israel to Bari, Italy and will distribute Israel’s traffic terrestrially around Europe. Bezeq International has contracted with Interoute to take the cable on to its European PoPs and to data centres in London and Frankfurt.
Bezeq International's CEO, Isaac Benbenisti, said the project was “one of the most sophisticated and important engineering ventures of Israel”, and described his hope that Israel’s internet market would change in 2012.
Israel had previously been connected by a single subsea cable, owned by MedNautilus, which linked Israel to Italy, Greece, Cyprus and Turkey.
Meanwhile, work also began this month on a third cable to Israel, by Tamares Telecom, linking Israel to Cyprus, reports Globes Online.
