GO launches €1.5m upgrade of key submarine cable link
Modernisation of GO-1 connection to Sicily aims to boost Malta’s digital resilience and connectivity to Europe
Telecommunications provider Go on Tuesday launched the upgrade of Malta’s strategic Go-1 submarine cable link that will “significantly” enhance connectivity to Europe.
The company said the MOGOSC project will “strengthen the country’s digital resilience”.
The modernisation project, which is worth €1.5 million, is 50% co-funded by the European Union through the Connecting Europe Facility Digital Programme which supports the deployment of secure, high-capacity digital infrastructure across Europe. It is expected to be completed by September 2027.
Commissioned in 2008, the GO-1 submarine cable is one of Malta’s most important international telecommunications assets. Stretching approximately 290 kilometres between St Paul’s Bay, Malta, and Mazara del Vallo, Sicily, the system provides a direct high-capacity connection to mainland Europe and carries a substantial proportion of Malta’s international internet and telecommunications traffic.
As part of the project, GO will replace the existing submarine line terminal equipment (SLTE) at both cable landing stations with a next-generation transmission platform that will deliver significantly greater capacity, enhanced cybersecurity, and full alignment with European strategic infrastructure requirements.
Kelvin Camenzuli, Chief Digital Officer at GO, said Malta’s economic competitiveness “depends on reliable international connectivity which is fundamental to the country’s digital transformation and national resilience”.
GO has initiated a Request for Proposal (RFP) process to select a qualified technology partner for the supply and deployment of the new terminal equipment. In line with European cybersecurity objectives, participation is restricted to vendors that are not considered high-risk under relevant EU security frameworks.
The modernised platform will provide a minimum of 400 Gbps of aggregated capacity from launch and has been designed to scale to multiple terabits per second, thus supporting the increasing requirements for cloud services, digital business operations, international communications, and emerging technologies across Malta’s economy.