Etisalat expands ‘SmartHub’ presence with two new locations in UAE

Etisalat has expanded its SmartHub in UAE with a state-of-the-art Tier 3 data centre facility at two new locations growing its presence in the region enabling global partners to bring digitalisation, implement cloud transformation initiatives, accelerate connectivity and capacity reach across Europe, US, Asia, Middle East and Africa.

The opening of the new facilities in Fujairah and Dubai is in line with UAE’s vision to become an ICT and data hub for the region addressing the diverse requirements of global data centres and technology companies.

With the launch of the new facilities Etisalat’s Carrier & Wholesale Services (C&WS) have set a benchmark in the region and is also a testimony to the company’s strategy of ‘Driving the digital future to empower societies’.

Ali Amiri, Group Chief Carrier & Wholesale Officer, Etisalat said: “During this unprecedented period that has challenged both health and economy, global markets are looking at enhancing interconnectivity and adding new capacities for businesses and the entire community. As the biggest neutral carrier hotels, Etisalat’s SmartHub data centres will be an ICT bridge between continents always supporting business critical activities of global customers.

“Thanks to the UAE vision and Etisalat's goal of enabling digital transformation, our network has always been one of the most robust and digitally equipped to address the unique requirements during this period making it possible for businesses to work remotely, millions of students to enjoy distance learning and all citizens having access to vital services.

“The launch and expansion of infrastructure, power and space of our data centres in such a short time frame is a testimony to our efforts to meet the growing demand from existing global customers. We are committed to making ‘SmartHub’ a preferred location for carriers, cloud service providers, Internet exchanges and companies looking for carrier grade data centres.”

The addition of the space and high power capacity in Fujairah and Dubai will bring the overall power capacity to more than 10MW with diversified power grid supply complemented with backup systems (N+N power redundancy).

SmartHub, a trusted digital partner is strategically located for global customers across industry verticals such as financial services and gaming. In the financial services industry, SmartHub’s secure digital capabilities support interconnected clouds and low latency environments directly connected to global networks and ecosystems.

The gaming industry is estimated at 2.3 billion active gamers globally with more than half of them located in the Asia-Pacific region, in this scenario SmartHub’s location presents a massive opportunity for gaming platforms.

SmartHub supports several route independent carriers offering direct access to multiple independent subsea cable systems interconnecting Europe, US, Asia, Middle East and Africa. Currently, SmartHub has the potential to offer diversified and low latency route connectivity to more than 2 billion people with 30 milliseconds latency. SmartHub currently hosts more than 60 providers including major carriers, content providers, mobile and satellite services and industry sectors like financial services and digital cloud platforms.