Doha, Qatar and Dubai, UAE – 07 May 2026:
Ooredoo Group today announced a partnership with du, the leading telecom and digital services provider, to land the Fibre in the Gulf (FIG) subsea cable system in the UAE, marking further progress in the development of a high-capacity international connectivityplatform designed to support the region’s growing data and digital infrastructure requirements.
FIG is the largest subsea cable system ever built in the GCC, designed to deliver an unprecedented capacity of up to 720Tbps across 24 fibre pairs. The system is being developed to meet sustained demand from hyperscalers, cloud providers, AI platforms and datacentre operators, enabling efficient, low-latency data flows across Qatar, the UAE, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq and Oman.
The project is led by Ooredoo Fibre Networks (OFN), a recently established independent entity created to manage and scale Ooredoo Group’s international connectivity and subsea infrastructure investments, under the leadership of its CEO, Khalid Al Hamadi.
The UAE landing at du’s cable station adds further depth to the system’s architecture, supporting more diversified data routing and strengthening the overall efficiency of regional and intercontinental connectivity between the Middle East, Europe and Asia.
Aziz Aluthman Fakhroo, Group CEO, Ooredoo, said: “FIG reflects our continued focus on building high-capacity, resilient connectivity infrastructure aligned with how demand is evolving. This partnership with du marks another step in the execution of theproject. Combined with the progress already made across other landing points, it reinforces the role of international connectivity in supporting the region’s long-term digital growth.”
FIG introduces greater route diversity and redundancy, providing alternative data pathways that strengthen connectivity resilience and support uninterrupted international data flows.
Fahad Al Hassawi, CEO, du said: “Landing the FIG subsea cable in the UAE strengthens our international connectivity capabilities and reinfources the UAE’s position as a leading global hub for data, cloud and AI. Our partnership with Ooredoo enables thescale, resillience and performance required to support hyperscalers, enterprises and digital ecosystems as demand for advanced connectivity continues to grow. This initiative aligns with the UAE’s digital transformation and economic agenda, supporting thenation’s vision to build a globally competitive, knowledge-based digital economy.”
FIG will support the next phase of digital infrastructure development across the region, providing scalable, high-capacity routes for cross-border data exchange and enabling continued growth in cloud, AI and digital services.
-ENDS-
About Ooredoo
Ooredoo Group is a leading international communications company building the region’s most advanced digital infrastructure – spanning leading wireless and fiber networks, AI-ready data centres, cloud & AI compute platforms, subsea cable systems, and platformbusinesses like Fintech. Operating in nine markets across the Middle East, North Africa, and Southeast Asia, Ooredoo serves nearly 150 million customers, enabling digital transformation at scale. As of 31 December 2025, Ooredoo generated full-year Revenueof QAR 24.6 billion. Its shares are listed on the Qatar Stock Exchange and the Abu Dhabi Securities Exchange.
About du
