Page 26 - SAMENA Trends - March-April 2022

REGIONAL & MEMBERS UPDATES SAMENA TRENDS

onward connectivity to Asia, Europe and solution. Dammam is to the East of Saudi like Google and Microsoft currently peering
Africa. The aim of the stc-LINX partnership and is a key location for the country’s at JEDIX, growth to other key digital hubs in
has always been to improve the quality of energy sector and associated businesses. KSA was a natural next step for the teams.
KSA’s internet while rapidly evolving into It is also strategically close to other “With JEDIX expansion the new sites will
the preferred digital interconnection hub neighboring countries which may benefit complement our initiative in establishing a
to serve the Middle East. The expansion of from interconnected services. Riyadh is major digital hub for the Middle East and
JEDIX to Dammam and Riyadh builds on this the capital of Saudi and the location of the North Africa, ensuring the leading position
ambition. Internet Exchange Points provide King Abdullah Financial District (KAFD), for KSA across the ICT sector and continue
a platform or central hub for networks to which is a key area designed to serve to highlight our role as the leading player
interconnect with other networks (peer) the local and regional financial sector. in the region”, said Mohammed AlAbbadi,
via a single connection. Networks often stc operates many state of the art Data Chief Wholesale Officer, stc. Kurtis Lindqvist
benefit from lower latency, increased Centers (DC) across Saudi which are linked CEO for LINX says, “We are really looking
control, and resilience. Expanding to new via stc’s extensive terrestrial network. The forward to growing our technical solution
cities improves all three of these benefits benefit to collocated clients is the ability with stc and the new interconnection
for both hosted clients and end users. The to operate extensive disaster recovery hubs this year. The growth of JEDIX
new sites in Riyadh and Dammam are due and business continuity solutions. In has proved that the region is thriving
to launch later this year and will not only addition, clients can operate complex digitally and together we are providing
mark the stc and LINX interconnection disaggregated system solutions across the solutions and the infrastructure
footprint as the largest in the Middle what can be designed as a single virtual DC to support this going forward.”
East, but it also creates a complete digital infrastructure. With large, global networks

stc and PIF Unite to Boost IoT in Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), among
the largest sovereign wealth funds in the world with
total estimated assets of at least US$500 billion, and
Saudi telecommunications company stc Group have
signed a joint venture agreement to establish a new
company specializing in the Internet of Things (IoT).
The company ownership will be 50% PIF and 50% stc.
It will be headquartered in Riyadh. The JV agreement
is part of PIF’s and stc efforts to drive the rapid growth
of IoT across Saudi Arabia and to make the country a
regional center for the Middle East and North Africa.
The new company aims to leverage the expertise and
technology of existing IoT partners and expand to
become a ‘one stop shop’ for IoT solutions. It also aims
to contribute toward the realization of Saudi Vision
2030, a strategic framework to reduce Saudi Arabia's
dependence on oil, diversify its economy, and develop
public service sectors such as health, education,
infrastructure, recreation and tourism. The company
is expected to be a technology-agnostic service
provider with a solution offering in the smart industrial
manufacturing sector, smart logistics transportation
sector and smart cities. In addition to providing
IoT solutions, the company will also help create an
ecosystem by providing consulting, implementation
and training support as well as facilitating innovative
funding models to support businesses in their adoption
of IoT. The deal is subject to satisfying the conditions in
the JV agreement and obtaining the relevant approvals
from the competent authorities. Local market studies
indicate vast growth in the size of the IoT market in the
kingdom to, potentially, reach SAR 10.8 billion (about its 5G and NB-IoT connectivity infrastructure, with more than 15,000
US$2.9 billion) by 2025 with an annual growth rate communication towers and a coverage rate of more than 85% of urban areas.
of 12.8%. stc has invested aggressively in building

26 MARCH-APRIL 2022