PTCL and China Telecom Global have recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding for the establishment of a new Optical Fiber Network.

It will run through many under-served areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Azad Kashmir and Gilgit Baltistan. Under the agreement PTCL will deploy a new OFC link connecting China via Gilgit to Rawalpindi and Peshawar.

From there it would be connected to the PTCL’s national Optical Fiber Communications backbone. The collaboration will enable China to extend carrier connectivity to Pakistan as well as neighboring countries.

Presently, PTCL’s network extends to Chitral and Kohistan Districts of KPK. However, PTCL has aggressive plans to extend the cable network to Gilgit through two different routes.

This collaboration will allow Chinese carriers to establish connectivity to neighboring countries through PTCL’s terrestrial OFC link and major European destinations through PTCL’s established submarine cables infrastructure including SEA-ME-WE-3, SEA-ME-WE-4, IMEWE and AAE-1.