SAN JOSE, Calif. -- stc and Infinera (NASDAQ: INFN) announced today an agreement to deploy Infinera’s industry-leading ICE6 800G-capable technology on stc’s submarine cable networks enabling new regional and international connectivity services and infrastructure development including the development of cognitive cities.

stc is the leading telecommunications and wholesale service provider in the Middle East, offering national and international services over all major international cable systems that pass through the region.

This project will expand stc’s international network, using Infinera’s ICE6 800G-capable technology and GX Series Compact Modular Platform. These development projects will increase the capacity of the international network by 10-fold based on initial design capacity.

This substantial increase will meet rapidly growing bandwidth demands by providing the greatest capacity at the greatest reach, resulting in lower cost and power per bit and higher spectral efficiency.

“With rapid increase in demand and the requirement to accelerate and strengthen connectivity between Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Europe, Infinera’s 800G submarine network solution will enable us to meet the exponential growth of international connectivity while improving reliability,” said Mohammed A. Alabbadi, stc, Chief Wholesale Officer. “ICE6 will also enable the expansion and diversification of cloud services in the region and around the world, and this technology is ideal for our upcoming projects 2Africa and Saudi Vision Cable.”

“stc’s selection of Infinera’s GX Series Compact Modular Platform featuring ICE6 technology sets them up for success to meet growing bandwidth demands in the Middle East. ICE6 provides stc with the greatest spectral efficiency and best overall economics, which will enable stc to deliver on critical projects in the region,” said Nick Walden, Senior Vice President, Worldwide Sales, Infinera. “This initiative will pave the way for new and exciting digital opportunities throughout the Middle East.”