By Submarine Cable NewsFeed

Etisalat Carrier & Wholesale Services

has announced that Akamai Technologies, Inc., the leading global service provider for accelerating content and applications online, has installed servers and agreed

to leverage the Emirates Internet Exchange (EMIX) as part of providing services for customers reaching out to end-users in the United Arab Emirates, across the

Middle East, Africa and Asia. Akamai servers installed in EMIX's Point of Present (POP) located in the United Arab Emirates will bring rich content conveniently to

its consumers.

Mr. Ali Al Amiri, Executive Vice President – Carrier & Wholesale Services, Etisalat, said, “With thousands of specially-equipped servers,

Akamai helps the Internet withstand the crush of daily requests for rich, dynamic, and interactive content, transactions, and applications. Hundreds of enterprises

worldwide use its global platform to sell, inform, entertain, market, advertise, deliver software and conduct their business online. Today, Akamai handles billions

of daily Web interactions for these leading global companies.”

By locating Akamai servers within EMIX, Etisalat is able to offer its customers the ability to

download content such as music and videos from servers located within Etisalat's EMIX network in the UAE rather than servers located in North America or Europe –

significantly reducing latency and increasing the usability and reliability of the Internet. Etisalat's customers in the UAE and the region also benefit from the

installation of Akamai servers in the event of interruptions or problems in international networks. During the recent breakdown of submarine cables, Etisalat

customers were able to access many Internet sites, and download content and files as normal, partly due to this arrangement, the company said in a

statement.

Ali Amiri said, “This is part of a strategic decision by Etisalat that supports our vision to create a hub for telecommunications services in the

UAE. So far we have only been offering IP-access through our international cable routes, while today, we are able to provide access to the most demanded and widely

-accessed content by teaming with one of the world's leading providers. This is just the start of our vision to localize Internet traffic for providing better

services to our customers with even better performance and quality. This agreement will open many doors for future opportunities to develop new partnerships and

further enhance our services.”

“Akamai's global platform enables a more robust, scalable and faster Internet for thousands of the world's most-recognized

brands across diverse industries. With the installation of our servers at EMIX, Akamai believes we are helping to strengthen the online business community in the

UAE. Akamai will enable EMIX to offer some of the most popular content to their users and customers without using international peering points or links, thus

eliminating the need to leave the local network. Handling billions of Internet requests each day, Akamai's solutions help its customers ensure websites perform

optimally, media and software files download flawlessly, and that business applications are always available,” said Robert Blumofe, Senior Vice President, Network

and Operations, at Akamai.

Etisalat, through the Emirates Internet Exchange (EMIX), peers with most of the Gulf countries and provides a gateway to the

region and beyond for all service providers conducting business in the Middle East or all over the region. All major submarine cables towards east and west all

land in the United Arab Emirates, forming a hub for Internet and voice transit. This connectivity and capacity makes the United Arab Emirates and Etisalat a prime

partner for leading managed service providers such as Akamai.

Rashid Al Ai, Product Manager, EMIX said, “The Emirates Internet Exchange is positioned as the

fiber gateway to the Gulf – providing data transit and peering services to ISPs and telecommunications companies operating through the region. This agreement helps

to develop our offering and would fulfill Etisalat's promise to offer comprehensive wholesale telecommunications services.”

EMIX has recently established

its 7th point of presence (POP) in Germany, which has hugely benefited its customers accessing web in general and European contents in particular. EMIX presently

has POPs strategically located across the globe in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, New York, London, Amsterdam, Singapore and Germany. EMIX has plans to establish further POPs in

Asia and America. EMIX present backbone bandwidth is approximately 20 Gbps. It currently has 129 fully redundant STM-1 links on various transnational cables,

linking it with various Tier-1 IP Access providers around the world. The above-mentioned bandwidth does not include its huge private peering links. EMIX is in

process of activating additional links, to cater for the rising demand for Internet bandwidth.