2 - 8 August 2001

Fibre-optic link between Malta and Gozo to be in place soon

by Ivan Brincat

A submarine cable being installed by Enemalta Corporation between Malta and Gozo could be used by the two telecommunications companies Maltacom and Melita Cable.
Enemalta chairman Robert Ghirlando told The Malta Business Weekly that the two companies have shown an interest in Enemalta’s submarine cable which will also include a fibre optic cable.
At present, the two telecommunications companies provide their
services via a microwave link but both are interested in the fibre optic link since this is considered much more reliable and provides greater bandwidth.
The submarine cable being installed by Enemalta will be used for the provision of electricity but Prof. Ghirlando said that it has now become common practice to also include fibre optic in the cables.
“So far we have not yet reached an agreement with Melita Cable and Maltacom regarding the matter. However, we have not had in-depth discussions even though the two companies have shown an interest. We still have to sort out the terms,” Prof. Ghirlando said.
The submarine cable should be in place by the end of the summer if everything goes ahead as planned.
“If we do not have any setbacks, the submarine cable would be in place by the end of summer but it will all depend on permits issued by the relevant authorities,” Prof Ghirlando said.
Maltacom chief executive officer Stephen Muscat told The Malta Business Weekly that Maltacom and Enemalta had had technical discussions. “We are interested in having fibre optic cable because it would increase the bandwidth for Gozo even though we are already serviced through our microwave link between Mellieha and Xewkija.”
Charges to use the cable could be a stumbling block. “If the prices are reasonable then we will definitely opt to use the service. If it is not viable we would have to go about it in our own way. However, we can reach an agreement with Enemalta depending on the price they charge,” Mr Muscat said.
Maltacom said they were also interested in the use of the Enemalta submarine cable because this would pass through Comino and the company already had a service there.
Enemalta’s chairman said the two telecommunications companies will be able to utilise the fibre optic cable when an agreement is reached. “They are waiting for Enemalta to come up with the pricing structure for the
service since we will be laying the cable anyway.”
The provision of telecommunication services through a fibre-optic cable would be very important for Gozo since the island could be used as a base for e-commerce companies.