Europe India Gateway (EIG)
Active15,000 km submarine cable system, ready for service }}.
Key facts
- Status
- Active
- Ready for service
- }}
- Length
- 15,000 km
- Design capacity
- 3.84 terabits per second
- Owner
- 18 companies
Landing points
- * Bude, UK, * Bude — United Kingdom
- Sesimbra, Portugal, Sesimbra — Portugal
- Gibraltar
- Marseille, France, Marseille — France
- Monaco
- Tripoli, Libya, Tripoli — Libya
- Alexandria, Egypt then overland to Suez, Egypt, then submarine again, Alexandria
- Jeddah Saudi Arabia
- Djibouti
- Muscat, Oman, Muscat — Oman
- Fujairah, United Arab Emirates, Fujairah — United Arab Emirates
- Mumbai, India, Mumbai — India
Overview
Europe India Gateway (EIG) is a submarine cable system stretching 15,000 kilometres from the southwest of England to the west coast of India. Its design capacity of 3.84 terabits per second supports traffic across a corridor that carries a significant share of communications between Europe, the Middle East and South Asia.
Route
The system lands first at Bude in Cornwall before heading south to Sesimbra in Portugal, then continues into the Mediterranean with stops at Gibraltar, Marseille, and Monaco. From there the cable reaches Tripoli in Libya and Alexandria in Egypt. At Alexandria, the system transitions overland across Egypt to Suez, where it re-enters the water and heads down through the Red Sea to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia. The route then continues south to Djibouti before turning east through the Arabian Sea, landing at Muscat in Oman and Fujairah in the United Arab Emirates, and terminating at Mumbai in India.
The Egyptian overland segment is a characteristic shared by several cables on this route — the alternative, circumnavigating Africa, adds thousands of kilometres and considerably more latency.
Ownership and Construction
EIG is owned by a consortium of 18 companies. The builder of record is not documented. Consortium-owned cables of this type typically reflect the interests of the carriers, operators and internet companies that rely most heavily on the route, distributing both the capital cost and the capacity entitlements among members.
Regional Significance
The cable occupies a well-travelled path that underpins voice, data and internet connectivity between Western Europe and the Indian subcontinent. With landing points spread across North Africa, the Arabian Peninsula and the Horn of Africa, EIG also serves as a lateral resource for countries along the route that have limited alternative cable access. Its multiple Mediterranean touchpoints — including the micro-state of Monaco — reflect the density of demand concentrated in Southern Europe.