AT&T Expands Services in Middle East, Wins $6mn Deal from Ericsson
IT News Online Staff
2007-09-12
AT&T Inc. announced that it is expanding its services in the Middle East, as part of an ongoing strategic investment in the region. The initiatives include increasing its network reach and building a stronger local presence. The company also announced that it has received a contract worth $6 million from Ericsson to provide an advanced Virtual Private Network (VPN) across the Middle East region.
AT&T said its network node, which is being deployed in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia in cooperation with Saudi Telecommunications Company (STC) and NavLink, a company within which AT&T maintains a minority shareholding, is expected to be fully operational by the end of 2007.
The advanced data infrastructure from AT&T will allow AT&T and NavLink customers to directly interconnect to STC's nationwide Multi-Protocol Label Switching (MPLS) network, the largest and most advanced MPLS network in the Middle East region.
AT&T will further enhance its network reach in the Gulf with the deployment of a new AT&T global network node in Kuwait through the cooperation of QualityNet, a provider of data networking services in Kuwait. The companies will work with NavLink to activate the Multi-Protocol Label Switching (MPLS) node during 2008.
As part of the agreement between the three companies, QualityNet will host the AT&T global network node and allow them to offer IP Virtual Private Network (VPN) services both to local Kuwaiti customers seeking global connectivity and to AT&T's existing multinational customers seeking to extend their presence and reach in the Gulf region.
These initiatives to expand AT&T's network reach in the Middle East complement the company's existing network infrastructure already fully deployed and operational in United Arab Emirates and Qatar. The initiatives also forms part of AT&T's $750 million global investment program, which was announced earlier this year. In the coming months, AT&T plans to grow its sales and support team based in Dubai to compliment its enhanced network reach.
Under the $6 million contract with Ericsson, AT&T will provide VPN services to support Ericsson's growing business activities in Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Lebanon, Oman and the United Arab Emirates. This builds on the existing relationship that AT&T has with Ericsson; AT&T provides network services to Ericsson's business in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) and the Americas.
"A reliable network, backed by a comprehensive service level agreement, the ability to execute locally and speedy implementation, were all key requirements for us when choosing our network provider in the Middle East," said Carl-Magnus Mansson, chief information officer of Ericsson. "AT&T provides us with all of this, backed up by the strong partnerships it has built with key players in the area. We are dedicated to the Middle East as a growth area of our business and feel that this is matched by the commitment that AT&T has made to the region."
"This contract with Ericsson underlines the importance of the Middle East to our customers," said Tom Regent, head of AT&T operations in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. "Through our direct investment in NavLink, partnerships with other key players in the Middle Eastern telecommunications market and our regional office in Dubai, we are confident that we can serve the needs of enterprises in these high-growth markets."
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