Syria Signs Landing Deal for First International Submarine Cable

Syria's telecommunications ministry has signed an agreement for the landing of the first international submarine cable to the country with Barcelona-based Medusa Submarine Cable System, state-run Ikhbariya TV reported on Saturday.

The submarine cable system is intended to connect 12 countries across North Africa and southern Europe, according to Medusa's website. It will also serve as a corridor connecting the Mediterranean to the Atlantic Ocean and to the Red Sea.

After 14 years of civil war and decades of Western sanctions, Syria's infrastructure shortfalls include poor internet connectivity. Many users have to use costly mobile data instead of a wireless connection to get basic tasks done online.

Syria's new rulers aim to make rapid progress in improving public services after toppling Bashar al-Assad last December.

A senior Syrian official and a second official told Reuters in June that the government was in talks with regional telecoms companies Zain, Etisalat, STC and Ooredoo for an about $300-million project to develop Syria's fibre-optic communications network.

(Reuters - Reporting by Menna Alaa El-Din and Ahmed Tolba; Editing by Aidan Lewis and Timothy Heritage)