Indian Government Approves Reliance's IEX and IAX Projects

According to the Economic Times, the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) of India has approved Reliance Jio's plan to build submarine cable systems for high-capacity and high-speed internet connectivity from Mumbai to Europe and Asia, i.e., India-Europe-Xpress (IEX) and India-Asia-Xpress (IAX). 

In a meeting on November 2, the Ministry of Environment, Forests & Climate Change's Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) for projects involving coastal zone regulations recommended the project for approval in view of its importance for network connectivity.

IEX in the Arabian Sea and open seas will connect Mumbai to Europe, with landings in the Middle East and Africa (Oman, Djibouti, Saudi Arabia and Egypt) as well as through the Mediterranean Sea with landings in France, Italy and Greece, further expanding to US Coast (East).

IAX has 12 cable landings across five nations, with branches in Matara (Sri Lanka), Satun (Thailand), and Morib (Malaysia), in addition to the main trunk from Tuas (Singapore) to Mumbai.

The two cable systems will launch from Versova beach and Silver beach in Mumbai, respectively. 

IAX and IEX cable systems will provide more than 200Tbps of capacity spanning over 16,000 kilometers.