OFN, Ooredoo Group’s international connectivity arm, signed a dark fiber agreement with iQ Networks to support onward connectivity from its planned Fiber in Gulf (FIG) landing in Iraq toward Turkey and Europe.
The deal gives OFN access to multiple dark fiber pairs across Iraq, creating a terrestrial extension for FIG, the high-capacity subsea system designed to link Qatar, Oman, the UAE, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Iraq. OFN said the combined subsea-terrestrial route will offer another geographic path between Asia, the Gulf and Europe, aimed at improving route diversity and helping customers scale capacity.
The corridor targets rising bandwidth demand from AI providers, cloud companies, hyperscalers, data centers, content players and telecom operators. It also supports Iraq’s push to position itself as a regional hub for international data transit.
“The sheer scale of this collaboration with OFN reinforces Iraq’s position as a key gateway for international connectivity,” Asoz Rashid, Group CEO of iQ Group, said in a statement. “By combining Iraq’s strategic location and iQ’s leading terrestrial infrastructure with the scale of the FIG subsea system, we have an opportunity to establish the primary route linking Asia, the Gulf and Europe.”
The OFN’s FIG landing arrangement with ITPC is separate from the iQ Networks deal, but together the agreements link FIG’s subsea capacity with overland fiber transit toward Europe.
OFN said implementation remains subject to regulatory, governmental and other required approvals.