BAKU, Azerbaijan - Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan plan to complete the laying of a 390-kilometer Trans-Caspian fiber-optic cable in October, advancing a high-capacity data route between Europe and Asia.
The cable will connect Sumgayit on Azerbaijan’s Caspian coast with Aktau in Kazakhstan and is designed for a maximum capacity of up to 400 terabits per second.
Kazakh Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development Zhaslan Madiyev announced the timetable at a government meeting, according to APA.
The project is being implemented by Kazakhtelecom and AzerTelecom. It is intended to provide an alternative high-speed route for data traffic between Central Asia, the South Caucasus and Europe and is a central component of the Digital Silk Way initiative.
Cable Laying and Commercial Launch Are Separate Stages
The October target refers to completing the physical installation across the Caspian seabed. Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development has said the full system, including technical and commissioning work, is scheduled to enter service by the end of 2026.
A specialized cable-laying vessel with a displacement of more than 20,000 metric tons is handling the offshore work. The vessel carries a crew of 70, and the optical fibers and both ends of the line have undergone testing, according to the ministry.
The armored cable was transported through Kazakhstan’s Kuryk port to Baku before the vessel began laying the line toward Aktau.
A New Regional Data Corridor
Once operational, the link is expected to improve the resilience of regional telecommunications infrastructure and provide operators with another route for carrying internet traffic between Asia and Europe.
The planned capacity could also support the expansion of data centers, cloud services and artificial-intelligence infrastructure in the region.
Source: Vesti Baku.