Hank Nussbacher <HANK%VM.BIU.AC.IL@taunivm.tau.ac.il> (04/14/91)
First to the fiber optic sub-oceanic cable: EMOS (Euro-Mediterranean Optical System) is 2900km long and is owned jointly by 13 countries: Israel, Turkey, Greece, Italy, France, England, Germany, Holland, Spain, Belgium, Switzerland, USA and Canada. The cost for installation has been $107 million. The main station for EMOS is in Palermo-Sicily where it hooks up to TAT-9 and then interconnects to TAT-8. The termination points for EMOS among the Mediterranean countries are: Israel: Tel-Aviv; Turkey: Marmaris; Greece: Lechaina. EMOS was made operational as of January, 1991 during the Gulf War. EMOS replaces two existing copper cables for Israel: Tel-Pal (Tel-Aviv to Palermo) initiated in 1975 and carries 3,000 calls. Mar-Tel (Tel Aviv to Marseille) initiated in 1968 and carries 128 calls. EMOS will support 20,000 simultaneous calls. On the satellite (which incidentally comes from the Arab word satala which means to spin or rotate) end of the picture, Israel will have its own satelitte called AMOS (African Mediterranean System) which will have six transponders and will be located at 15E over Zaire. These six transponders will replace the three Israel currently leases from Intelsat (Intelsat V F12 at 1W). AMOS will be a minisatellite and strictly KU-band and will be operational in 1993. Hank Nussbacher Israel