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Bharti Airtel Launches Middle East Connect Network

Bharti Airtel, Indias leading integrated telecom services provider, on Monday launched wholesale data services for Middle East telecom operators.

Bharti has announced the readiness of its Middle East Connect network to serve global carriers in the region. With this network, carriers in the region can extend their global Internet capacity at multiple points, to get better peering and diversity in case of a disaster.

“The whole region is growing pretty fast and internet penetration is also going up. Out of our total market we are expecting 25-30 per cent revenue in this region from wholesale side after this network,” Bharti Airtel chief executive officer for Global Data Business, Ajay Chitkara, told Khaleej Times over phone from New Delhi.

The only outside operator with capacities on multiple cable routes in the region, Bharti Airtel offers the advantage of at least three multiple paths on every cable route.

“In last few quarters we have invested $500 million in 8-9 different cables. We will be working with all existing carrier partners in the region,” Chitkara said.

Over the last two quarters, Bharti has added over 17 gigabytes per second capacity to the region and has made investments that connect the India-Middle East-Europe route via three alternative paths on SEA-ME-WE 4, I-ME-WE and EIG, he said.

All three cables have one point that is Fujairah, he said and adding: “We get entry in GCC countries from this point.” These paths will provide the much needed diversity and capacity to the region and key markets for Bharti Airtel are the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Iraq, Oman and Iran.

In addition to its existing international fibre infrastructure, Bharti is also building a regional backbone connecting major markets, made easy by its ownership of capacity.

“With India emerging as a hub for IP connectivity, Bharti Airtel finds itself uniquely positioned to offer flexible IP solutions to carriers in the Middle East to meet their growing needs,” he said.

The initiative is a culmination of Bharti Airtel’s investments over the last two quarters in enhancing its network infrastructure in the region.

The Middle East has seen the introduction of a wide variety of innovative value added services. Consistent to its core values of flexibility and diversity, Bharti unveiled its suite of products in the area of Global Transmission and IP Services that include Submarine Capacity, Global leased circuits, Ethernet and Backhauls, Global IP Transit, Regional IP Transit, AS IP Transit, Managed Internet, Bandwidth on demand for customers in the Middle East.

Bharti’s international infrastructure includes ownership of the i2i submarine cable system, consortium ownership of the SMW4 submarine cable system, and investment in a number of diverse submarine cable systems across transatlantic and transpacific routes.

Each of Bharti routes — India-ME-Europe, Atlantic, India-Singapore, Singapore-Japan and Japan-US — offer customers’ three alternate paths that address dual needs of expansion and diversity.

abdulbasit@khaleejtimes.com

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