Another submarine link

Melita, the telecommunications company, is about to lay a submarine fibre optic cable in a €10 million project that will give Malta its fourth communications gateway to Italy.

The project kicked off last year when a detailed survey of the seabed was carried out to determine the route the cable would follow.

The submarine cable has been brought from a ship some two kilometres off Baħar iċ-Ċagħaq and connected to Melita's cable on land.

Melita's chief technology officer Simon Montanaro said the next step would involve laying the cable all the way to Sicily and this would be completed within a month or two.

Melita said the project, being carried out by a consortium made up of NSW and Italtel Group, formed part of a long-term investment to provide an enhanced experience to its clients, catering for the increased technological needs of the local market.

Marketing head Malcolm Briffa said the commencement of the works was a major milestone in Melita's drive for a fully integrated network. He said the company had over 50,000 subscribers to its broadband internet service.

Malta is already connected to Sicily thanks to a submarine cable operated by Vodafone and another by Go, which is also in the process of laying a second.