President of the Republic of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and President of the Republic of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev took part in the launch of the Trans-Caspian fibre-optic communication line (FOCL), connecting the two countries via a cable laid along the seabed of the Caspian Sea.

The heads of state were briefed on the completion of the subsea cable connecting Aktau and Sumgait and its readiness for operation.

The fibre-optic communication line stretches 380 km and has a design capacity of at least 400 Tbit/s. The subsea cable was laid on 5 August 2026. The necessary coastal infrastructure has also been completed in both Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan.

The project was implemented by CaspiLink, a joint venture established by Kazakhstan’s Kazakhtelecom JSC and Azerbaijan’s AzerTelecom.

The new communication line will become part of the international digital infrastructure, expanding data transmission capacity between Asia and Europe. It will also facilitate integration with international data transmission routes and provide connectivity to subsea cable systems in the Black and Mediterranean seas.

For Kazakhstan, the project is of strategic importance to the development of its digital economy. The Trans-Caspian fibre-optic communication line will strengthen the country’s international connectivity, including for the Data Centre Valley being developed in Ekibastuz, and create favourable conditions for attracting international technology companies and advancing cloud services and artificial intelligence infrastructure.

Photo: AZERTAC