Verizon joins another undersea cable network

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Verizon Communications Inc's (VZ.N) business unit said on Tuesday it would help build an undersea cable connecting Europe, the Middle East and India to expand its global network to support Internet traffic.

Verizon Business, the No. 2 U.S. phone company's unit in charge of corporate clients, said it joined a consortium of 16 companies to build a 9,000 mile optical cable system linking the three continents.

The network, named the Europe India Gateway, is due to be completed in 2010 and cost more than $700 million. Verizon Business did not disclose how much it would pay.

Verizon Business is involved in more than 67 submarine cables worldwide, and the Europe India Gateway is its third major project in the last four years.

It has been boosting investment in such advanced cable networks to provide more stable voice connections and faster Internet services for global corporate clients.

(Reporting by Ritsuko Ando, Editing by Toni Reinhold)