GO to embark on a multi-million submarine infrastructure to connect Malta to France and North Eastern Africa

GO has announced a multi-million Euro investment in a third new submarine cable system.

This move by GO will reshape Malta’s international connectivity to the rest of the world. Unlike all current submarine cables, this new system will branch out into a dual connection. Meaning for the first time in telecoms history in Malta, the country will have an international high-speed fibre connection towards both the Western and Eastern parts of the Mediterranean.

"As a leader in its field, GO is once again responding to the country’s need for a more robust telecommunications infrastructure. This multi-million euro investment will promote Malta as the absolute Mediterranean hub for telecommunications and business. GO continues to be an active player and one of the largest investors in the country’s economic journey,” said CEO, GO plc Nikhil Patil.

Once completed the new system will connect Malta to Marseille, enabling the company to bypass the traditional connection to mainland Italy, as well as to Egypt. This investment will be contrary to all current submarine cables that connect Malta from the East coast of the island, the new system will be the only cable that provides international connectivity from the West coast.

Works on the production of the cable, as well as important preparations on the local physical infrastructures, are already underway.

GO highlighted that the events which transpired last week; that subsequently left thousands of clients without internet across all platforms was “extreme and extraordinary.” It said that to an extent the company felt duty-bound to cancel its annual Christmas party for its 800+ workforce and mobilize hundreds of employees to attend to the sudden technical circumstances and store GO’s service in the shortest time possible. 

GO operates two international submarine cables that connect Malta to Sicily, both designed to provide redundancy in the event that one of the submarine cables is out of service and if on cable is out of service, all protected traffic is carried on the other cable system automatically.  

The second submarine cable named GO-1 which lands in the West side of Sicily was inaugurated over ten years ago, in 2008. The investment in a third submarine cable will take redundancy for Maltese businesses and customers to a new level, and once completed.