FRIDAY MARCH 17 2017 telecoms 11 THE landing of CYTA’s submarine cable ALEXANDROS on the The constant revolution south coast Telecoms companies face more rapid changes amid relentless industry advances his week we present our special our special supplement we give special supplement on the telecommuni- focus on how Cyprus is already taking T cations sector. Over several pages advantage of its geographical position of analysis, we address the key issues cur- to attract global players, but also how it rently facing global telecoms companies can leverage that position even further today. going forward, to address rising compe- Telecommunications is an indus- tition and meet rapidly-rising demand try that has been in constant revolution for more secure and ever-faster connec- now for several decades. It started when tions. we could connect to the other side of the We start by introducing the submarine world with slow, modem-based, noisy cable networks owned and/or operated dial-ups that cost a by CytaGlobal, the national and interna- fortune and could not tional wholesale market division of state- These developments create cope with more than run Cyta, as well as Cyta’s global satellite very intense demands on one or two images on network. a web page. We take a look at how Cyprus com- telecoms companies to Fast forward to pares with other EU countries, using the stay nimble, keep abreast 2017 and most of us European Commission’s digital economy of rapidly-changing are now carrying and society index (DESI). This measures demands and make the right around 4G in our digital connectivity, including prices, and pockets. The revolu- we also ask what more can be done to investments to keep ahead of tion is by no means raise Cyprus’ scores. the competition over, however. Mega In addition to Cyta, we talk to the other players such as Goog- operators in Cyprus - Hellas Sat, Cablenet, le and Microsoft are now investing hun- MTN and PrimeTel - asking their opinions dreds of millions, getting into areas tra- on what is needed to turn Cyprus into a ditionally dominated by telecoms compa- hub for top-demand users such as data nies, such as submarine cables. centres and commodity traders. We also These developments create very in- ask them what is needed to improve price tense demands on telecoms companies competitiveness and to attract more for- to stay nimble, keep abreast of rapidly- eign investment. changing demands and make the right We also describe the open access mod- investments to keep ahead of the compe- el, consider its pros and cons and ask if it tition. can work as an option for international With those challenges in mind, in connections or fibre networks. GERMANY’S first 4.5G mobile base station launched in July 2016 FRIDAY MARCH 17 12 TELECOMS 2017 Cyprus the regional hub Cyta’s Chief Commercial Officer Yiannis Koulias tells the Cyprus Weekly how the island acts as a regional hub for submarine cable system that span the globe By Frances Miller hen we think of the state tel- ecoms operator, Cyta, we tend W to think of landlines and mobile phones. Yet hidden away under the sea, and in space, away from view, is another highly- valuable resource, namely the large interna- munications centre of excellence. SUBMARINE major development, which allows for a uni- tional network of Cyta consisting of satellite Through Cytaglobal, Cyta has invested cable landing fied strategy to exploit all national and inter- and submarine systems and networks. tens of millions in several high-capacity, fi- stations and national networks of the Cyta Group for the Cyta is the dominant telecommunica- bre-optic submarine cable systems and sub- satellite earth benefit of our customers, assuming a leading tions provider in Cyprus and its product systems. To understand why this is an im- stations in role as a regional hub of great geopolitical portfolio covers the whole spectrum of elec- portant resource, look up at a map of global Cyprus importance,” said Yiannis Koulias. tronic communications, ranging from fixed submarine fibre-optic cables. You will see a and mobile telephony to internet service pro- cluster in the Eastern Mediterranean centred Continuous investment needed vision and broadband applications. on Cyprus. To keep the satellite and submarine cable “Cyta, through its strategic business unit These cables run west from Cyprus to systems up to date and responding to rapid- Cytaglobal, is particularly active in the area Greece, Italy, France, and as far as Portugal, ly-evolving business and consumer needs, of undersea cable systems, providing whole- UK, Belgium and Germany. Other cables continuous investment is needed. sale products and services on a global ba- run south to Abu Talat and Alexandria ca- According to a recent article in the Finan- sis,” explains Yiannis Koulias, Cyta’s Chief ble stations in Egypt, while on the east side, cial Times, global demand for bandwidth Commercial Officer. the cables link to Syria, Lebanon and Israel. is growing at 40% per year. Cloud-based As Director of Cyta’s National & Interna- Through Cyta’s co-ownership of transatlan- technology is one key source, as well as “de- tional Wholesale Market Division, he has tic cable systems and other regional systems, mand for greater capacity from financial ser- YIANNIS Koulias, led Cytaglobal in developing and promoting Cyprus is also linked to the rest of the world. vices companies seeking the smallest pos- Cyta’s Chief Cyta’s successful cable and satellite hub in Cyprus, through Cyta, currently serves sible delays in transaction times (known as Commercial the Eastern Mediterranean, contributing to as a major regional telecommunications hub latency)”, it said. Officer establishing Cyprus as a regional telecom- in the Eastern Mediterranean, with multiple Moreover, big technology companies cables linking Cyprus to neighbouring coun- Cyta, through like Microsoft and Google are also getting tries and other European destinations. its strategic involved. Google was one of the investors “Cyta’s new undersea cable systems and business unit in the $300m Faster Cable system running subsystems to Israel, Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Cytaglobal, is from the US to Japan that launched in June Greece, Italy and France, complement exist- 2016. ing facilities, enhancing the robustness of particularly This means competition for established Cyta’s international access through physical active in telecoms companies. They have not stood diversity and significant increase in band- the area of still, however, and have been responding by width, thereby creating Eurasia business op- undersea joining forces with other telecoms compa- portunities and a bridge between East and nies. For example, Vodafone announced in West,” said Koulias. cable systems, May 2016 the opening of the 8,100 km Bay The submarine network is therefore an- providing of Bengal Gateway (BBG) submarine cable other example of how Cyprus uses its strate- wholesale linking India, Singapore, Malaysia, Oman, gic geographical position, at the crossroads products and UAE and Sri Lanka. of three continents, to act as a regional hub The investment was undertaken together between east and west, north and south. services on a with five other telecoms companies: Dialog These submarine cable connections even al- global basis Axiata of Sri Lanka, Etisalat of the United low Cyprus to act as a transit point between Arab Emirates, Omantel of the Sultanate of countries that do not have diplomatic rela- Oman, Reliance Jio Infocomm of India and tions, such as Syria, Lebanon and Israel. Telekom Malaysia Berhad of Malaysia. The recent interconnection of Cyta’s in- Cyta is continuously evaluating the con- ternational networks with the extensive op- nection of Cyprus to other planned fibre-op- tical fibre networks in Greece, owned and tic networks the world over. operated by Cyta’s wholly owned subsidiary “By co-owning, buying or leasing capac- Cyta Hellas, is another boost. ity, we participate in many regional and “It presents additional unique business global submarine cable systems, thus lever- opportunities, on a common Cyprus-Greece aging our strategic location and know-how front, along the important axis extending to create synergies and partnerships, ensur- from the Middle East to the Balkans and Cen- ing that Cyprus retains its position as an im- tral Europe,” said Koulias. portant telecommunications hub in the East- “This interconnection of networks is a ern Mediterranean,” said Koulias. FRIDAY MARCH 17 2017 TELECOMS 13 A submarine cable being laid in the Mediterranean Cyprus’ submarine cable networks Cyta’s international network is continuously expanding yprus’ submarine cable network is based on Synchronous Digital ‘This interconnection C Hierarchy (SDH) cable systems of networks is a major as well as self-healing rings. SHD in- terconnections are faster and less ex- development, which allows pensive than the older Plesiochronous for a unified strategy to Digital Hierarchy (PDH) systems. Re- exploit all national and peaterless systems have a number of international networks of the benefits, including the fact that they do not require additional subsea equip- Cyta Group for the benefit of ment such as regenerator units or pow- our customers’ er-feed equipment. Self-healing rings allow systems to continue operating if – Egypt and a fibre pair between Cy- one segment of the prus – France, implemented through system fails. Telecom Egypt’s submarine cable sys- Repeaterless systems Cyta’s interna- tem TE-North (TEN), connecting Egypt have a number of tional network is with France, and, through Pan-Europe- continuously ex- an networks, connecting to the rest of benefits, including panding. The fol- Europe and beyond. the fact that they do lowing cables land CYTa’S network operation centre ATHENA and KIMONAS: Private not require additional in Cyprus at three cable subsystems wholly owned by subsea equipment separate Cyta cable- Cyta, connecting Cyprus with Greece.