Epic Malta-Sicily Cable System (EMSCS)

Overview

The Epic Malta-Sicily Cable System (EMSCS) is a short submarine cable spanning approximately 260 km across the central Mediterranean, connecting Malta and Italy. The system serves the corridor between the island of Malta and the Italian island of Sicily, providing a direct undersea link between the two countries.

Route and Landings

In Malta, the cable lands at Balluta Bay. In Italy, the cable lands at Catania, located on the eastern coast of Sicily.

Ownership and Operators

The EMSCS is owned solely by Epic, a Maltese telecommunications operator. Epic provides fixed-line, mobile, and broadband services in Malta and is the sole owner of this cable system.

Technical Profile

The cable spans a total length of 260 km, making it a relatively short system within the Mediterranean region. No supplier or fiber pair details are available for this system.

Status and Timeline

The EMSCS entered service in 2004 and has been operational for approximately 22 years. It holds the distinction of being among the earliest submarine cable systems to land in Malta, which recorded its first submarine cable in the same year.

Regional Context

The Italy–Malta corridor hosts several submarine cable systems of considerably greater length and international scope. Long-haul systems such as 2Africa (45,000 km, RFS 2024), PEACE Cable (25,000 km, RFS 2022), and Asia Africa Europe-1 (25,000 km, RFS 2017) all touch one or both of these countries as part of broader intercontinental routes. The forthcoming Medusa Submarine Cable System, with landings in both Italy and Malta and an RFS of 2026, will add further capacity to the same corridor. Within this landscape, the EMSCS is longer than 30% of the other cable systems touching the same countries, reflecting its purpose as a focused bilateral link rather than a long-haul route. Measured performance over 46 ping tests in the past 60 days shows an average round-trip latency of 78.1 ms, with a best recorded result of 41.7 ms.

Strategic Role

The EMSCS provides a dedicated submarine connection between Malta and Sicily, linking Malta's telecommunications infrastructure to Italy's extensive cable network at Catania. As a bilaterally focused system operated by a single Maltese carrier, it serves a distinct function within a corridor otherwise dominated by large multi-owner international systems. Italy has 23 submarine cables landing across 49 landing points, offering onward connectivity across the Mediterranean and beyond, while Malta's 7 submarine cables—of which EMSCS was among the first—connect the island to wider European and global networks.