Although Israel and Saudi Arabia still don't share peace, they're about to be connected via fiber-optic cable.

On Tuesday, Communications Minister Yoaz Hendel and representatives from Google are expected to announce the official launch of the "Blue Raman" route that will link the two countries and which is part of a larger internet infrastructure project that will ultimately connect Europe with India.

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The underwater cable project, named after Indian physicist Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman, will be more than 8,000 kilometers (5,000 miles) long and is expected to cost $400 million. It will begin in Italy and then pass over Israel before reaching Saudi Arabia, Oman and finally India.

The 16 fiber-optic cables to be used in the Blue Raman project will be capable of transmitting massive amounts of data and will significantly upgrade Israel's digital connection with the rest of the world.

No less important – and similar to the oil pipeline linking Israel's southern Red Sea port of Eilat to the city of Ashkelon on the Mediterranean Sea, which is intended to be used to expedite oil supplies from the Persian Gulf to Europe – the fiber-optic cables will also cross Israel on land from the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea, and from there, as stated, to Saudi Arabia, Oman, and finally India.

The Blue Raman route is expected to be completed in three years.

Beyond the technological aspects of the global project and the benefits it will provide in that regard, the selection of Israel as the "conduit" country is diplomatically and geopolitically significant.

Officials familiar with the details told Israel Hayom that the project solidifies Israel's importance as a bridge country between Asia and Europe.

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Israel is preparing for another tender to allocate more fifth-generation (5G) mobile frequencies as soon as late 2021, aiming to boost the economy from new technologies while giving mobile operators a new revenue stream after years of steep declines.

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Israel allocated three frequencies – 700 MHz, 2.6 GHz and 3.5 GHz – following an auction in 2019, and the Communications Ministry plans to offer ultra-fast broadband frequencies above 24 GHz late in 2021 or early 2022, Tal Elimelech, who heads the ministry's 5G project, told Reuters.

As in its prior tender, heavy incentives such as government grants will be provided to cash-strapped mobile companies to participate and the amounts raised are expected to be a fraction what has been seen in Europe – hundreds of millions of euros.

More important to the country's telecoms regulator is an investment in the 5G infrastructure and vast applications that will help the public health, agriculture, education and other sectors.

"This is the main profit ... It's not just one-time income from selling the spectrum," Elimelech said, in the wake of a conference by the ministry aimed at creating a 5G ecosystem between telecoms companies and the high-tech industry.

Fifth-generation technology, which is 10 times faster than widespread 4G, is expected to power everything from high-speed video transmissions to self-driving cars.

So far, 5G adoption in Israel is low – estimated at just a few tens of thousands. But the ministry, which is also working with Israel's Innovation Authority, expects numbers to grow quickly in the next few years as prices of 5G-enabled phones drop in price to make them more financially viable.

Israel's mobile sector has been battered following a 2012 reform that opened the market to a wave of competition, leading to a plunge in revenue and profits at the three incumbents – Cellcom, Partner Communications and Bezeq unit Pelephone.

All-inclusive mobile, texting and Internet surfing packages are available for as little as 20 shekels ($6) a month from virtual providers who use the trio of network operators.

Liran Avisar Ben Horin, the director-general of the ministry, said the current environment where no one is making money is not sustainable and a new balance is needed where cost-conscious Israelis will likely need to start paying more a month for better services.

"I hope 5G will change the trend in the market and more players can make money and be financially stable," she said. "When you get good service and good coverage you might feel more comfortable about paying some kind of premium."

As long as competition was not harmed, Ben Horin said she was not opposed to more mergers in the sector after Cellcom bought smaller rival Golan.

She also expressed optimism that there will be significant integration to faster home Internet after Bezeq – the country's largest telecoms group – said it would launch a rapid nationwide rollout of its fiber optics network that the firm expects to hit 40% of households this year.

Cellcom and Partner have been deploying their own networks in recent years while Bezeq and the ministry were at odds over the extent of its deployment.

"During this past year, everyone has understood that our [current] networks are too old and too loaded to provide us with what we need," Ben Horin said in apparent reference to people working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Google is planning to connect Israel and Saudi Arabia via fiber-optic cable as part of a larger internet infrastructure project, the Wall Street Journal reported Monday.

According to the report, the link would be established as part of a major network connecting Europe with India.

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The underwater cable project, called Blue Raman route after Indian physicist Chandrasekhara Venkata Raman, will be more than 8,000 kilometers (5,000 miles) long and is expected to cost $400 million.

If completed, the network would mark the first time two nations with no formal diplomatic ties will be linked directly as part of an internet infrastructure project. The project will need the approval of several regulatory bodies, as the cable will cross several borders.

The report comes as Google is locked with Facebook in a struggle to build more network capacity to support its surging user demand for videos, search results and other products.

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The news also followed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's under-the-radar visit to Saudi Arabia on Monday, which saw the PM meet US State Secretary Mike Pompeo and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

The visit was reportedly focused on seeking a united front against Iranian aggression in the region.

 This article was first published by i24NEWS.

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The antitrust authority also imposed a financial penalty of NIS 500,000 ($140,000) on a senior Bezeq official and said on Wednesday that it intended to levy a further NIS 8 million ($2.3 million) fine on Bezeq for misinformation during the authority's investigation.

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The regulator said Bezeq blocked competitors from deploying wired communications networks using the company's infrastructure, which "could adversely affect the development of competition in the supply of internet, television and wired telecom services."

Bezeq declined to comment.

Israel's telecom regulator in 2012 created a wholesale market that required Bezeq to allow smaller rivals Cellcom and Partner Communications to use its network – the only one in Israel that reaches almost every home.

The antitrust authority noted that Cellcom and Partner were deploying an independent fiberoptics network in Israel that would compete with Bezeq.

"Inquiries to Bezeq from companies like Cellcom and Partner seeking to use Bezeq's ... infrastructure to deploy independent wired networks have faced many difficulties and delays," the authority said, adding that the firms have incurred extra costs.

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