New Bay of Bengal Cable to be completed by 2014 and deliver Tens of Terrabits capacity Abu Dhabi-Chicago: 14 May, 2013 – Etisalat, one of the leading telecom operators in the Middle East and Africa, today announced its strategic partnership in the construction of the Bay of Bengal (BBG) submarine fiber optic cable along with industry leaders to enhance intercontinental connectivity and diversity for UAE and the region. Other telecom majors involved with Etisalat are Telekom Malaysia Berhad(Malaysia), Vodafone Group (UK), Omantel (Oman), Reliance JioInfocomm Limited (India) and Dialog Axiata (Sri Lanka). “Etisalat'sSmarthub is the strategic terminal point for Bay of Bengal (BBG) cable. Thisreaffirms UAE's position as the telecommunication hub in the region. We are delighted to be part of this consortium that will enhance our already robust intercontinental capacity to support our customers growing high speed data requirements."said Ali Amiri, Executive Vice President, Carrier and Wholesale Services, Etisalat. The construction of BBG will provide connectivity between the Middle East, South East Asia and South Asia and is a clear indication of the growing demand for bandwidth in the participating countries. The total distance of the cable spans approximately 8,000 km is designed to provide upgradable and transmission facilities by adopting the state-of-the-art 100Gbps technology. This cable system is expected to carry commercial traffic by end of 2014. About Etisalat Etisalat is the largest telecommunications operator in the Middle East and North Africa region catering to consumers, businesses, international telecommunication companies, ISPs, content providers and mobile operators. Servicing over 139 million customers in 15 countries in Middle East, Asia and Africa, Etisalat has achieved more than 20% growth in subscriber base in 2012 across its land line, mobile, and Internet services. Etisalat is now the highest overall rated telecommunications company in the GCC and the 4th highest rated telecommunications company in the world. It has been rated AA- by Standard & Poor, A+ by Fitch, and Aa3 by Moody's. Etisalat UAE has pioneered the launch of the region's first commercial 4G service on its nation-wide LTE network. In September 2012, Etisalat UAE successfully completed the highest 4G LTE speed test in the world, reaching speeds of 300Mbps. The corporation offers a variety of hi-tech complimentary services to the telecommunications industry including managerial and technical training, SIMcard manufacturing, e-payment solutions, clearing house services, peering, voice and data transit, and submarine and land cable services. About Smarthub Etisalat UAE Smarthub is the largest capacity, content, internet and data hub in the Middle East. Smarthub provides regional access for global service providers and global access to the region. Smarthub includes the Middle East's first IPX for Mobile operators and includes the region's largest portfolio of internet content. Smarthub IX (Internet Exchange) will extend the reach of Smarthub content. Connectivity to Smarthub is provided through a robust and diverse infrastructure of both regional and intercontinental cable systems combined with world class hosting facilities in the Smarthub datacenter a managed by Etisalat's Carrier& Wholesale Services www.etisalat.ae/smarthub.
