stc and the London Internet Exchange (LINX) have announced the expansion of interconnection services to new Internet Exchange Points (IXPs) in Riyadh and Dammam to complement the initial collaborative project, JEDIX, which was launched in 2018 in Jeddah.
All internet exchanges will continue to be supplied and managed by the London Internet Exchange (LINX). JEDIX, the first exchange point in KSA, is a carrier neutral exchange which interconnects carriers, cloud, content providers, local ISPs and enterprise networks connected in MG1 (MENA Gateway). Jeddah is one of the main landing stations for subsea cables in the Middle East, providing convenient onward connectivity to Asia, Europe and Africa.
The aim of the stc-LINX partnership has always been to improve the quality of KSA’s internet while rapidly evolving into the preferred digital interconnection hub to serve the Middle East. The expansion of JEDIX to Dammam and Riyadh builds on this ambition. Internet Exchange Points provide a platform or central hub for networks to interconnect with other networks (peer) via a single connection. Networks often benefit from lower latency, increased control, and resilience. Expanding to new cities improves all three of these benefits for both hosted clients and end-users.
The new sites in Riyadh and Dammam are due to launch later this year and will not only mark the stc and LINX interconnection footprint as the largest in the Middle East, but it also creates a complete digital solution.
Dammam is to the East of Saudi and is a key location for the country’s energy sector and associated businesses. It is also strategically close to other neighbouring countries which may benefit from interconnected services. Riyadh is the capital of Saudi and the location of the King Abdullah Financial District (KAFD), which is a key area designed to serve the local and regional financial sector.
stc operates many state of the art Data Centres (DC) across Saudi which are linked via stc’s extensive terrestrial network. The benefit to collocated clients is the ability to operate extensive disaster recovery and business continuity solutions. In addition, clients can operate complex disaggregated system solutions across what can be designed as a single virtual DC infrastructure.
With large, global networks like Google and Microsoft currently peering at JEDIX, growth to other key digital hubs in KSA was a natural next step for the teams.
“With JEDIX expansion the new sites will complement our initiative in establishing a major digital hub for the Middle East and North Africa, ensuring the leading position for KSA across the ICT sector and continue to highlight our role as the leading player in the region”, said Mohammed AlAbbadi, Chief Wholesale Officer, stc.
Kurtis Lindqvist CEO for LINX says, “We are really looking forward to growing our technical solution with stc and the new interconnection hubs this year. The growth of JEDIX has proved that the region is thriving digitally and together we are providing the solutions and the infrastructure to support this going forward.”
