Mumbai, Jul 2 (IANS): Reliance Globalcom, a unit of Anil Ambani-led Reliance Group, Monday said it has launched a subsea cable service in Iraq that will substantially increase the war-ravaged country's communication and broadband links to the outside world.

Reliance Globalcom has introduced the new service in partnership with Iraqi Telecommunications and Post Company (ITPC). Both these firms have jointly developed Al-Faw Cable Landing Station in Iraq that will be used to provide the service.

With this development, Reliance Globalcom is now the first private subsea service provider to activate submarine capacity and directly connect Iraq seamlessly to the countries in the Middle East, Asia, Europe and North America, Reliance Globalcom said in a statement.

Considering the low broadband penetration in Iraq, the Falcon (submarine cable) landing provides a significant milestone towards establishing direct connectivity from Iraq to the rest of the world, and will help boost the country's telecom sector.

"Falcon offers seamless connectivity globally and will help connect Iraq to the rest of the world through the reach of our global network. This opens a new opportunity for multi-national companies around the world to have a better communication with Iraq and operate from this country," said Rory Cole, chief operating officer of Reliance Globalcom.

Consumers can now enjoy better quality in broadband services and higher internet speeds.

The new station built with an initial design capacity of 680 Gbps with two diverse routes, would use 50 Gbps on each route in order to cater to the existing market demand.

The two diverse routes are integrated into the Falcon network, thereby offering a resilient network.

"The Middle East is one of the fastest growing regions in the world and Reliance has a very strong presence, with a network reach spread across 11 countries," Cole.

"Our association with Iraqi Telecommunications and Post Company (ITPC) is yet another testimony to our leadership position and commitment to the region in providing network infrastructure that will play a major role in the development of business opportunities in Iraq by leveraging on Reliance Globalcom's network assets globally," he added.

Al-Faw Cable Landing Station will connect Iraq to all the key Middle East countries like Oman, Iran, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, Yemen and Egypt, through Reliance Globalcom's Falcon submarine cable.

Falcon's interconnection with FEA ensures further seamless connectivity and diversity to major global destinations on the Reliance Globalcom network including London, New York, Mumbai and Hong Kong.

Commenting on the deal, Iraq's communication minister Mohammed Allawi said: "This is an extremely important strategic initiative undertaken by ITPC and Reliance Globalcom. This will facilitate the connectivity of all the countries in the Middle East region to Iraq and will also significantly improve the quality and speed as well as the reliability of Iraq's connectivity to the rest of the world."