On Behalf of

Business & Finance Club - Telecommunication - Doha: Qatar telecommunication company(Qtel) and Gulf Bridge International (GBI), singed Sunday an agreement in which Qtel will provide a landing station for GBI s cable in Qatar.  The agreement was singed for Qtel by CEO Dr. Nasser Marafih and for GBI by its Chief Executive Officer Ahmed Mekky.
According to the Landing Party Agreement (LPA), will enable GBI to land a connection in Qatar to the GBI Cable System, which will connect all the countries of the Gulf region to each other and provide onward connectivity to Europe and Asia. 
The people of the region will benefit significantly from the greater choice, value, diversity and resilience delivered through this network, which will improve connectivity and provided the foundations for the introduction of next generation communication technology.
''By connecting Qatar to this new global Cable System, we are layering an additional level of resilience to the existing infrastructure to enable and maintain seamless and uninterrupted communication across the world.
Additionally, the superior capacity provided by this new partnership is a big step towards realizing our vision to make Qatar one of the best connected countries in the world.'', said Dr. Marafih. 
For his part, the Executive Vice Chairman of GBI, Hamad Al-Mannai, said  ''Today s agreement with Qtel will enable GBI to expand its reach further as the most comprehensive cable operator in the Middle East. Our partnership will allow Qtel to offer the customers even more diversity and resilience and will give Qatar infrastructure required to attract additional foreign investment'', he said.
The value of the "GBI" cable project is estimated at about $ 454 million as an investment for the establishment of an integrated network and administration of the "GBI", and the public network of the company.
Meanwhile, GBI's CEO Ahmed Mekky noted ''I am especially pleased that Qtel will provide a landing station for GBI in Qatar. As one of the Gulf s most successful telecom operators, with operations spanning across North Africa, the Middle East, the Asian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, Qtel will be a significant partner for GBI as we build our network around the Gulf.
Qatar Telecom (Qtel) provides both fixed and mobile telecommunications services in the state of Qatar. We have a presence in 17 countries and we are committed to expansion both in the MENA region and South East Asia. Our vision is to be among the top 20 telecommunications companies in the world by 2020. 
Gulf Bridge International (GBI) is a private company dedicated to connecting all the nations of the Gulf region to one another and to the rest of the world, using the latest fiber optic technologies.
The GBI cable will be developed and owned by GCC investors who are building this strategic infrastructure to serve the entire region. GBI intends to be the carrier s carrier of choice for traffic to and from the Gulf, facilitating social and economic growth in the region''.