Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi, Communications and Competitiveness Minister Censu Galea and Information Technology and Investment Minister Austin Gatt were present for the conference held on board Alcatel’s Ile de Batz ship.

Vodafone’s new international gateway will have an initial capacity of 2.5 Gbits/sec. The capacity of the new cable will be split between voice and IP data services, with an initial 40 Mbits/sec for voice and 90 Mbits/sec for data. The cable will have the potential to increase the capacity to over one Tbit/sec, making the system future-proof in terms of capacity expansion.

“The launch of Vodafone’s international gateway represents a very important step in enhancing Malta’s telecommunications infrastructure. The fact that Malta will shortly have two cable systems, which support all voice, data and internet requirements, will create a competitive market for voice and IP services. This will benefit customers and help make Malta more competitive,” Mr Grioli explained.

Dr Gonzi said that thanks to the full liberalisation of the telecommunications sector earlier this year, the market is gradually becoming a level playing field. The establishment of the second international gateway is in itself a catalyst for further investment, both for current business in Malta as well as for interested foreign businesses wishing to relocate or set up in Malta since this will remove the vulnerability of one single gateway. In addition, this gateway will strengthen the national ICT strategy by increasing the robustness of the national ICT infrastructure given our geographical isolation.

The end result will be more competition between the telecoms providers, and recent history has proved that increased competition will result in a higher focus on value-for-money for the customer.

The submarine cable, which is being installed for Vodafone by Alcatel, spans approximately 250 kilometres between Malta and Catania. After the completion of an extensive marine survey, using sonar and other sophisticated equipment, the cable will now be laid on the sea bed at a maximum depth of 3,200 metres. Equipped with armoured steel protection, the cable is designed to withstand the harshest sea environment. Once the cable between Malta and Sicily is completed, it will be connected to the land transmission system for onward connection to Milan. In Milan, the international carriers will route the traffic around the world.

“Vodafone Malta was granted an International Gateway Licence in January 2003, upon liberalisation of international gateway services. Since concluding our agreement with Alcatel in August last year, nine kilometres of trenches have been dug in both Malta and Sicily, the sea bed has been surveyed, and the cable designed and built. Now this E10 million project is entering its final stage and in the near future, Malta will begin to benefit from its new international gateway,” Vodafone Malta chief commercial officer Paul Bahia said.

Malta’s international gateway is set to provide an important incentive to foreign investors thinking of setting up a business in Malta. In the past, several companies which were interested in investing in Malta shied away because there was only one cable link with Italy. “Companies involved in information technology, internet betting and software support and writing do not want to be dependent on one cable. So from an investment point of view, Malta will clearly benefit.

The new Vodafone gateway gives Malta a safety factor which it needs and which investors will appreciate,” concluded Mr Grioli.

“Broadband internet, video and data services are shaping the convergence of transmission networks to enable operators like Vodafone to seamlessly evolve to new network architectures and support such a variety of services with powered efficiency and cost-effectiveness,” Alcatel’s submarine network activity, president Jean Godeluck said.

“As the only vendor able to provide end-to-end turnkey optical networking solution, Alcatel supports its customers with unique advantages in terms of technological synergies, network traffic optimisation and cost of network ownership,” he added.