Millions to tune into Annual Meetings in Dubai

At Dubai 2003, representatives from the world's media will be empowered with a next-generation press office offering services fitting for Dubai's status as a premier conference venue.

The press office that will provide services including secure, high-speed Internet and connectivity to corporate networks can support over 400 journalists. It will also include plasma screens with live broadcast coverage from the conference. Cisco worked closely with its Channel Partner, Bond Communications, to deploy the network elements needed to ensure journalists have instant access to information and the ability to distribute this in real-time. Bond Communications, a UAE based company with extensive experience as a systems integrator, has deployed a team of technicians and engineers on-site to support this mission-critical service.

"Dubai 2003 is of huge importance for the Middle East and will help grow the region's reputation as a centre of commerce," said Obaid Bin Mes-har, Chairman of the Dubai 2003 IT Committee and General Manager of Etisalat Dubai. "Decisions made at this event will have a global impact and the world's media have a critical role to play. We have allied with Cisco and Bond Communications, relying on their leadership and expertise to provide the products and the integrated solutions to deliver the premium service that we and our international guests expect."

"The solution we have deployed has been tailored especially with the media in mind," said Ghazi Atallah, Cisco's General Manager for the GCC and Pakistan. "We understand the importance of decisions made at this event and the impact that this particular meeting will have on the international financial markets. We have therefore provided for every possible requirement to enable the rapid and secure distribution of information."

"Bond Communications is honoured to be partnered with Cisco and Dubai 2003 to provide the resources required to support these influential meetings," said Nicholas Mobayed, Chief Executive Officer and President of Bond Communications. "This landmark event is a case study example of how we work with our international and local partners to set new benchmarks in quality and excellence."

The press office has been enabled with the industry leading Cisco Catalyst 6500 series switches. Redundancy and scalability have built throughout the framework of the network in order to ensure the reliability of the architecture. The press office is located within Hall 5 of the Dubai International Convention Centre and will be officially open from September 17.