Abu Talat, Egypt

Position in regional infrastructure

Abu Talat is a coastal location on Egypt's Mediterranean coast at coordinates 31.071849°N, 29.702495°E, west of Alexandria. For submarine cable infrastructure, Abu Talat is one of the principal Egyptian Mediterranean landing points where Asia-Europe cables transit the Suez corridor make landfall on the Egyptian Mediterranean side. Six major cables land at Abu Talat, complementing other Egyptian Mediterranean landings (Sidi Kerir, Alexandria, Port Said) and the Red Sea landings (Suez, Zafarana, Ras Ghareb) as part of the wider Egyptian Asia-Europe cable corridor.

The Abu Talat landing site benefits from being separated from the busier Alexandria and Sidi Kerir clusters, providing landing-end diversity within the Egyptian Mediterranean coastline. Cables landing at Abu Talat connect onward via terrestrial fibre across Egypt to the corresponding Red Sea landings of the same cables, which then continue eastward through the Red Sea toward Asia.

Submarine cables landing in Abu Talat

Asia Africa Europe-1 (AAE-1) is a 25,000 km submarine cable in service since 2017, owned by a 19-member consortium. From Abu Talat it reaches Cambodia, China (Hong Kong), Djibouti, Egypt (Zafarana), France (Marseille), Greece (Chania), India (Mumbai), Italy (Bari), Malaysia (Penang), Myanmar, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Thailand, UAE (Fujairah), Vietnam, and Yemen.

PEACE Cable is a 25,000 km submarine cable in service since 2022, owned by Peace Cable International Network Co. Ltd. From Abu Talat it reaches Cyprus, Egypt (Zafarana), France (Marseille), Kenya, Maldives, Malta, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Seychelles, Singapore, Somalia, Tunisia, and UAE.

Europe India Gateway (EIG) is a 15,000 km submarine cable in service since 2011, owned by AT&T, BT, Altice and others. From Abu Talat it reaches UK, Portugal, Monaco, Egypt (Zafarana), Gibraltar, Saudi Arabia, Djibouti, India (Mumbai), Libya, Oman, UAE.

Middle East North Africa (MENA) Cable System / Gulf Bridge International is an 8,000 km submarine cable in service since 2014, owned by Gulf Bridge International and Telecom Egypt. From Abu Talat it reaches Egypt (Zafarana), Italy (Mazara del Vallo), Oman (Al Seeb), Saudi Arabia (Jeddah).

TE North/TGN-Eurasia/SEACOM/Alexandros/Medex is a 3,634 km submarine cable in service since 2011, owned by Algerie Telecom, Cyta, PCCW, SEACOM, Tata Communications, and Telecom Egypt. From Abu Talat it reaches Algeria (Annaba), Cyprus (Pentaskhinos), and France (Marseille).

Connection topology and redundancy

Abu Talat's cables provide multiple paths to all major Asia-Europe routing destinations: AAE-1 and PEACE are both major modern cables with extensive Asian and European landings; EIG complements with European-Indian focus; SeaMeWe-5 (which also lands at Abu Talat — among others) provides the broadest landing footprint. The owner mix is diverse — multi-operator consortia (AAE-1's 19 members, MENA), single-operator commercial cables (PEACE), and Egyptian state involvement via Telecom Egypt in MENA and other systems.

The structural value of Abu Talat is its role within the Egyptian cable corridor diversification strategy: by spreading cables across multiple Mediterranean landing sites (Abu Talat, Sidi Kerir, Alexandria, Port Said) rather than concentrating at any one, Egyptian operators reduce the impact of any single landing-zone incident. The shared dependency on the terrestrial Egyptian cross-country fibre routes between Mediterranean and Red Sea landings remains the deeper systemic risk.

Geography and coordinates

The Abu Talat submarine cable landing sits at 31.071849°N, 29.702495°E (31°04'19"N, 29°42'09"E), on Egypt's Mediterranean coast west of Alexandria. The location is part of the broader Alexandria coastal cable cluster but provides geographic separation from the busier Sidi Kerir landing further east.

Frequently asked questions

What submarine cables land at Abu Talat, Egypt?

Major cables at Abu Talat include AAE-1 (RFS 2017), PEACE Cable (2022), EIG (2011), MENA/GBI (2014), and TE North/TGN-Eurasia/SEACOM/Alexandros/Medex (2011), plus SeaMeWe-5 (2016).

What are the coordinates of the Abu Talat cable landing?

Abu Talat cable landing is at 31.071849°N, 29.702495°E (31°04'19"N, 29°42'09"E), on Egypt's Mediterranean coast west of Alexandria.

Which countries connect to Egypt through Abu Talat?

Through Abu Talat's cables, Egypt connects to a large number of countries across Asia, Europe, and Africa: France, UK, Portugal, Monaco, Italy, Greece, Algeria, Cyprus, Tunisia, Malta, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Oman, Yemen, Djibouti, Kenya, Somalia, Seychelles, India, Pakistan, Maldives, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Myanmar, China, Libya, Gibraltar.

When was the first submarine cable laid at Abu Talat?

The earliest documented Abu Talat landing in the GeoCables dataset is EIG and TE North/TGN-Eurasia/SEACOM/Alexandros/Medex, both in service since 2011.

Who operates the cables landing at Abu Talat?

Operators at Abu Talat include the 19-member AAE-1 consortium, Peace Cable International Network Co. Ltd. (PEACE), AT&T-led EIG consortium, Gulf Bridge International and Telecom Egypt (MENA), and the SEACOM/Tata/PCCW/Cyta/Telecom Egypt consortium for TE North.