On May 6, 16 telecoms worldwide signed an agreement to embark on a joint project to construct a 15,000-kilometer undersea fiber-optic cable network linking the three continents of Europe, Africa, and Asia. Valued at US$700 million, the project is known as the EIG (Europe India Gateway) cable system, Dow Jones News reported.

Projected to become the first high-bandwidth undersea fiber-optic cable system to directly connect the United Kingdom and India, the EIG system is expected to deliver up to 3.84 terabit of new capacity upon completion, which is schedule for the second quarter of 2010, PR Newswire reported.

Telecoms participating in the project include AT&T, Bharti Airtel, BT, Cable &Wireless, Djibouti Telecom, Gibtelecom, IAM, Libyan Post, Telecom and Information Technology Company, MTN Group, Omantel, PT Comunicacoes SA, Saudi Telecom, Telecom Egypt, Telkom SA, and Verizon Business, according to PR Newswire.