Optical & Fixed Networks

Maintenance agreement signed for Syria-Cyprus cable

Maintenance agreement signed for Syria-Cyprus cable

Three companies – UNIFI Communications, Syrian Telecom, and CYTA – have signed a construction and maintenance agreement for UGARIT 2 – a new subsea cable that, at the outset, will connect Syria to Lebanon and Cyprus.

UNIFI is a US-based international carrier and AI infrastructure service provider. Syrian Telecom is the national telecom operator of the Syrian Arab Republic. It UGARIT 2 and operates the Tartous landing station, Syria's primary gateway to the global internet. 

CYTA is a leading provider of integrated electronic communications in Cyprus and a major Eastern Mediterranean telecom hub. 

Signed in Damascus late July this is the first major international infrastructure agreement to reach execution under Syria's new economic framework and is described as a decisive step in reconnecting the country to the global digital economy.

The 240-kilometer repeaterless system will link Pentaskhinos, Cyprus to Tartous, Syria with twenty-four fibre pairs, delivering 31 Tbps of capacity at launch and scalable to 370 Tbps — replacing the original UGARIT cable that has served Syria since 1995.

The project has been in development since 2024. It will connect the country directly to European internet exchanges — supporting a growing digital economy, the return of millions of refugees and diaspora professionals, and the broader rebuilding effort. 

The consortium's supply chain is already in motion: the wet plant has been ordered from Prysmian (NSW), Elettra TLC has been selected for turnkey marine installation, and Nokia will supply the DWDM optical transmission equipment for Phase 1. The marine route survey and cable manufacturing are underway, with a ready for service target of early 2028, subject to Eastern Mediterranean conditions and vessel availability.

There are clearly high hopes for this cable. As Abdulsalam Haykal, Syria’s Minister of Communications and IT, says: "Syria is building a digital hub at the crossroads of three continents. UGARIT 2, alongside our SilkLink initiative [which aims to establish an extensive telecommunications infrastructure in Syria], establishes Syria as a connectivity gateway between Europe, the Gulf and Asia."



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