Raman

Overview

Raman is a planned submarine cable system spanning approximately 7,376 kilometres, connecting five countries across the Red Sea, Arabian Sea, and Indian Ocean corridor. The cable links Djibouti, India, Jordan, Oman, and Saudi Arabia, serving a region that bridges East Africa, the Arabian Peninsula, and South Asia.

Route and Landings

In Djibouti, the cable lands at Djibouti City. India is served by a landing point at Mumbai. Jordan has a landing station at Aqaba, located at the northern tip of the Red Sea. Oman hosts two landing points: Barka, on the country's northern coast, and Salalah, in the south. Saudi Arabia is connected via Duba, situated along the Red Sea coast.

Ownership and Operators

Raman is jointly owned by Google, Sparkle, and Zain Omantel International. Google is a major technology company with a growing portfolio of privately owned and co-owned submarine cable infrastructure worldwide. Sparkle, the international arm of Telecom Italia, operates one of the largest wholesale connectivity networks across Europe, the Mediterranean, and beyond. Zain Omantel International represents a collaboration between two prominent telecommunications carriers in the Middle East and Gulf region.

Status and Timeline

Raman is planned for readiness in 2026. The system is not yet in service as of the time of writing.

Regional Context

The corridor linking Djibouti, the Arabian Peninsula, and India is among the most active submarine cable routes in the world, carrying substantial traffic between Europe, the Middle East, and Asia via the Red Sea. Raman will enter service alongside SeaMeWe-6, which shares several of the same landing countries and also carries a 2026 ready-for-service target. Other systems operating in overlapping geographies include the 2Africa cable, Asia Africa Europe-1 (AAE-1), Europe India Gateway (EIG), and PEACE Cable, all of which serve subsets of the same Djibouti–India–Oman–Saudi Arabia corridor. At 7,376 kilometres, Raman is considerably more compact than these broader systems, suggesting a more focused regional role rather than a long-haul intercontinental span.

Measured round-trip latency through Raman averages 199.3 milliseconds across recent testing, with a recorded best of 54.9 milliseconds, reflecting the range of test paths across its multi-country route.

Strategic Role

By connecting six landing points across five countries, Raman provides direct submarine connectivity between the western coast of India, the Omani coastline, the Saudi Red Sea shore, Jordan's Gulf of Aqaba outlet, and Djibouti's position at the mouth of the Red Sea. The inclusion of two Omani landings — at both Barka and Salalah — offers geographic redundancy within Oman itself. The cable's concentrated footprint in the Red Sea and Arabian Sea region positions it to serve demand between the Gulf states, the Horn of Africa gateway, and the Indian subcontinent.