EAGLE

Overview

EAGLE is a planned submarine cable system spanning approximately 2,000 km across the central Mediterranean and southern Adriatic regions. It connects Albania, Egypt, and Italy, forming a relatively short intercontinental link between Southern Europe and North Africa. The cable is owned by 4iG Group, a Hungarian telecommunications company, and Telecom Egypt, Egypt's state-owned telecommunications operator.

Route and Landings

In Albania, the cable lands at Seman. In Italy, the landing point is Lecce, located in the Apulia region at the heel of the Italian peninsula. In Egypt, the cable lands at Sidi Kerir, a well-established cable landing site on Egypt's Mediterranean coast west of Alexandria.

Ownership and Operators

EAGLE is jointly owned by 4iG Group and Telecom Egypt. 4iG Group is a Budapest-based telecommunications and IT infrastructure company that has been expanding its international cable footprint in recent years. Telecom Egypt is the country's incumbent fixed-line operator and a frequent participant in submarine cable systems transiting Egyptian waters.

Status and Timeline

EAGLE is planned for a Ready for Service date in 2028. The system is not yet in service.

Regional Context

The Egypt–Italy corridor is one of the more active submarine cable corridors in the world, serving as a conduit between Europe and traffic originating from or transiting through Egypt. Several long-haul systems traverse this corridor, including 2Africa (ready for service 2024), Asia Africa Europe-1 (RFS 2017), IMEWE (RFS 2010), and others extending far beyond the Mediterranean into the Indian Ocean and beyond. EAGLE distinguishes itself within this corridor by its comparatively short length of 2,000 km and by its inclusion of Albania as a landing country — a routing feature not shared by the larger systems in this group.

Measured round-trip latency through EAGLE over the last 60 days has averaged 171.7 ms, with a best recorded result of 62.3 ms across 21 ping tests.

Strategic Role

When operational, EAGLE will provide Albania with a direct submarine cable connection to both Italy and Egypt, expanding the country's international subsea connectivity options. For Italy, the Lecce landing point offers an Adriatic-facing terminus that differs geographically from many existing Mediterranean cable stations. For Egypt, the Sidi Kerir landing adds another link in the country's extensive Mediterranean cable infrastructure. The cable's relatively compact footprint positions it as a focused regional link rather than a long-haul transit system.