Akamai selects Etisalat for locating its servers in the Middle East

Akamai servers installed in EMIX's Point of Present (POP) located in the UAE will bring rich content conveniently to its consumers.

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 break-down of submarine cables, Etisalat customers were able to access many Internet sites, and download content and files as normal, partly due to this arrangement.

Ali Amiri, Executive Vice President, Carrier & Wholesale Services, Etisalat, 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 UAE, forming a hub for Internet and voice transit. This connectivity and capacity makes the UAE and Etisalat a prime partner for leading managed service providers such as Akamai.

Rashid Al Ali, Product Manager, EMIX said: "The Emirates Internet Exchange is positioned as the fibre 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 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 20.0 Gbps (Gigabit per second). 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.