Saudi stc Launches Vision Submarine Cable in Red Sea

The Saudi Vision Cable, inspired by Vision 2030, is wholly owned by stc Group and spans over a distance of 1.1 million meters. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The Saudi Vision Cable, inspired by Vision 2030, is wholly owned by stc Group and spans over a distance of 1.1 million meters. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
TT

Saudi stc Launches Vision Submarine Cable in Red Sea

The Saudi Vision Cable, inspired by Vision 2030, is wholly owned by stc Group and spans over a distance of 1.1 million meters. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
The Saudi Vision Cable, inspired by Vision 2030, is wholly owned by stc Group and spans over a distance of 1.1 million meters. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Saudi telecommunication company stc Group launched the "Saudi Vision Cable," the first high-speed cable in the Red Sea, through its first landing station in Jeddah.

The Governor of the Communications and Information Technology Commission (CITC), Mohammed al-Tamimi, attended the launch ceremony.

The Saudi Vision Cable, inspired by Vision 2030, is wholly owned by stc Group and spans over a distance of 1.1 million meters.

The new cable will provide connectivity up to 18 Terabytes per second/fiber pair with 16 fiber pairs through four landings in Jeddah, Yanbu, Duba, and Haql.

Group CEO Olayan al-Wetaid explained that this achievement reveals the company's leadership in providing advanced maritime and international telecommunications services.

Wetaid indicated that it reflects "our comprehensive strategy that aims to diversify the Group's investment opportunities and support digital transformation in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia by boosting the digital infrastructure."

He explained that the cable would provide digital connectivity services for corporates and individuals between Saudi Arabia and the world by building a regional digital hub connecting the continents and helping meet the needs of companies and customers via an integrated digital ecosystem.

Saudi Vision Cable provides communication between several international information centers.

"It also achieves the raising level of the unified optical fiber platform that is cost-efficient and flexible, and provides access low latency - to all international cables in the landing stations and information centers of the stc Group," he added.

The new cable will be one of the submarine cables that will be linked to the MENA Hub connecting three continents of the globe, leveraging the strategic location of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. It will help to enhance investment in international communication services and data centers.

It will join the 16 cables invested by stc Group between the east and the west of the Kingdom and provide more reliable internet service to meet the increasing demand for communications and internet at the local and international levels.

It will also allow all of the country's sectors to obtain high-speed internet services, including education, healthcare, and business which will, in general, provide economic and social benefits.



Nintendo Switch Software to Be Playable on Successor Device

A logo of Nintendo is seen at a store in Shibuya district in Tokyo November 5, 2024. (AFP)
A logo of Nintendo is seen at a store in Shibuya district in Tokyo November 5, 2024. (AFP)
TT

Nintendo Switch Software to Be Playable on Successor Device

A logo of Nintendo is seen at a store in Shibuya district in Tokyo November 5, 2024. (AFP)
A logo of Nintendo is seen at a store in Shibuya district in Tokyo November 5, 2024. (AFP)

Nintendo President Shuntaro Furukawa said on Wednesday that software for the company's Switch console would be playable on the successor device.

The Kyoto-based gaming company has said it plans to make an announcement about a successor device during the financial year ending March 2025 but has not provided further details.

"Nintendo Switch is currently being played with by many customers so we decided it would be optimal for them to be able to play their Switch software on the successor model," Furukawa said.

"Customers will be able to enjoy the games they own and choose their next title from the lineup of games already on the market," Furukawa told a management policy briefing.

Offering backwards compatibility could help encourage consumers to transition to the new device and boost the appeal of existing software.

"It's not a big surprise but might be another hint the next device will be similar to the current one," said Serkan Toto, founder of the Kantan Games consultancy.

Nintendo has sold more than 1.3 billion software units for the Switch, which is in its eighth year on the market and has an install base of more than 145 million units.

The Kyoto-based gaming company has had success in extending the lifecycle of the hybrid home-portable Switch with hit games and a series of hardware refreshes.

Hardware sales are losing steam, with Nintendo on Tuesday cutting its full-year sales Switch forecast by 7% to 12.5 million units ahead of the key year-end shopping season.

"We are not surprised by the miss on the (hardware) side, given that Nintendo's target markets appear fairly saturated in most geographies," Jefferies analyst Atul Goyal wrote in a client note.

"Software sales picked up in 2Q and are expected to continue in 3Q," Goyal wrote.

Nintendo sold 39.6 million software units in the second quarter ended September, a 29% increase compared to three months earlier.

The company's shares climbed 6% in Tokyo, compared to a 3% rise in the benchmark index.