Originally at http://www.physorg.com/news9919.html

An underwater cable project launched by three countries will increase telecommunications capacity in the Persian Gulf area.

The FOG2 (Fiber-Optic Gulf 2) cable is projected for completion by the end of the year and is a project of Saudi Telecom, Emirates Telecommunications and Iraq’s Telecommunications and Post.

Consortium officials told AME Info over the weekend that the cable would improve Iraq’s international calling capabilities and would compliment links to the new SEA-ME-WE 4 cable linking the Middle East with Asia and Europe.

The cable, which has a capacity of 88 gigabits per second, is the first submarine cable to make landfall in Iraq.