Page 27 - SAMENA Trends - June-July 2020

REGIONAL & MEMBERS UPDATES SAMENA TRENDS

Etisalat Launches Two New Data Centers in the UAE to Strengthen

International Connectivity Links

Etisalat has announced the expansion of its SmartHub in the UAE, and the entire community. As the biggest neutral carrier hotels,
launching a state of the art Tier 3 data center facility at two new Etisalat’s SmartHub data centers will be an ICT bridge between
locations in the country. The move will allow Etisalat to grow its continents always supporting business critical activities of global
presence in the region, whilst simultaneously enabling global customers,” said Ali Amiri, group chief carrier and wholesale
partners to bring digitalization, implement cloud transformation officer, Etisalat. “Thanks to the UAE vision and Etisalat's goal of
initiatives, and accelerate connectivity and capacity reach across enabling digital transformation, our network has always been one
Europe, the US, Asia, the Middle East and Africa. Etisalat will of the most robust and digitally equipped to address the unique
launch the new data centers in Fujairah and Dubai, supporting requirements during this period making it possible for businesses
the UAE’s vision to become an ICT and data hub for the region. to work remotely, millions of students to enjoy distance learning
The facilities will address the diverse requirements of global and all citizens having access to vital services. “The launch and
data centers and technology companies. With the launch of the expansion of infrastructure, power and space of our data centers
new facilities Etisalat’s Carrier & Wholesale Services (C&WS) in such a short time frame is a testimony to our efforts to meet
have set a benchmark in the region and is also a testimony to the growing demand from existing global customers. We are
the company’s strategy of ‘Driving the digital future to empower committed to making ‘SmartHub’ a preferred location for carriers,
societies’. “During this unprecedented period that has challenged cloud service providers, Internet exchanges and companies
both health and economy, global markets are looking at enhancing looking for carrier grade data centers.” The addition of the space
interconnectivity and adding new capacities for businesses and high power capacity in Fujairah and Dubai will bring the
overall power capacity to more than 10MW with diversified power
grid supply complemented with backup systems (N+N power
redundancy). SmartHub supports several route independent
carriers offering direct access to multiple independent subsea
cable systems interconnecting Europe, US, Asia, Middle East and
Africa. Currently, SmartHub has the potential to offer diversified
and low latency route connectivity to more than 2 billion people
with 30 milliseconds latency. SmartHub currently hosts more than
60 providers including major carriers, content providers, mobile
and satellite services and industry sectors like financial services
and digital cloud platforms.

Mobily Fiber Services Now Available On All Fixed

Networks

Etihad Etisalat Company (Mobily) announced the start of providing
Mobily Fiber services through an agreement to open broadband,
which will allow it to provide fixed and fiber optic broadband
services to 3.5 million homes. Mobily said that the broadband
services for fixed communication networks through fiber optics
technology will provide customers with a unique experience of
high speed Internet, and a rich experience in video streaming
and e-gaming. The increased speed of response and interaction
will enhance this customer experience. The company added
that the service will be available through Mobily Fiber packages
at speeds per the customer’s request up to 500 Mbps, provided
fiber cabling is available from any fiber optic infrastructure
service provider. These efforts are within the initiative of the
Ministry of Communications and Information Technology and
the Communications and Information Technology Commission to
provide broadband for fixed communications.

27 JUNE-JULY 2020