GBI and Interoute to offer seamless communications between the Gulf and Europe

Doha Qatar, 31st May 2011– Gulf Bridge International (GBI), the Middle East’s first privately owned submarine cable operator, and Interoute, owner operator of Europe's most advanced next-generation network, are pleased to announce two new agreements, which will be delivered on the network extension agreement that was signed in Nairobi last year.

Italian Terrestrial Network Agreement
Under the terms of the Italian Terrestrial Network Agreement, Interoute will provide GBI with a fully diverse route from GBI’s landing station in Mazara Sicily to Interoute’s Milan POP at via Caldera.

European Network Agreement
The European Network Agreement will see GBI and Interoute integrate their Networks and provides GBI with access to Europe on the most advanced and densely connected voice and data network and affords connectivity to the major centers of Milan, London, Paris, Marseilles, Frankfurt and Amsterdam. This will be fully protected, resilient and will be designed and deployed as a fully 100g capable network.

“I am delighted that we are working with Interoute and that we are building on the agreement we signed with Interoute last year.” stated Mr. Ahmed Mekky, Board Member and CEO of GBI “This is a major milestone for GBI, as we deliver on our promise to Connect the World to the Gulf. With our launch only a few months away, we have now secured extensive coverage across Europe, beyond the physical reach of the GBI Cable System. This will enable both of our companies to offer the most comprehensive coverage between Europe and the Middle East.”

Gareth Williams, CEO at Interoute, said: “The global demand for internet increases year on year, and there is a real need for strong, resilient internet connections between Europe, the Middle East and Africa. We are very excited to be working closely with GBI again to further strengthen the communications bridge between the continents and meet this demand.”