Doha, July 2nd 2012

The Gulf Bridge International (GBI) Network Operations Center (NOC) was unveiled to the public today at Qatar Science and Technology Park, Doha. The NOC is the nerve center for the region's highest capacity and most geographically comprehensive cable network, connecting all the nations of the Gulf onwards to the data centers of Europe and Asia. 

"It is truly remarkable to look through this facility onto the vibrant and growing information exchange taking place across the Gulf and beyond," said Ahmed Mekky, Board Member and CEO of GBI. "This nerve center manages a tremendous amount of digital traffic every second. To grasp its enormous capacity, imagine being able to transfer about 7,000 full-length movies every second across the GBI cable system. Such capacity will help provide the ICT backbone meeting the ambitious development plans of the Gulf well into the future."

The center will be responsible for 24/7 monitoring of GBI's subsea and terrestrial network operations and is taking command from its back-up counterpart in Fujairah, UAE.

The GBI Cable System has a design capacity of 40G, roughly four times the Gulf's current standard, with portions upgraded to 100G. The cable system connects all the countries in the Gulf in a robust ring configuration. Outside the Gulf, the cable connects eastwards to Mumbai, India and westwards to Sicily, Italy, with diverse routing to Milan and onwards to London, Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Paris and Marseilles.

"In order to guarantee superior customer service, the Network Operations Centre exists to manage day to day operations on the GBI Cable System so that the service is transparent to GBI's customers," commented Neil Axford, Director of Network Operations at GBI. "Through 24/7 monitoring, the NOC team oversees the network activity on the cable system so that in the event of a disturbance, it is addressed immediately and efficiently."

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About Gulf Bridge International
Gulf Bridge International (GBI) is a private company dedicated to connecting all the nations of the Gulf region to one another and to the rest of the world, using the latest fiber optic technologies. The GBI cable is developed and owned by GCC investors who are building this strategic infrastructure to serve the entire region. GBI intends to be the carrier's carrier of choice for traffic to and from the Gulf, facilitating social and economic growth in the region. GBI's cable system will provide telecom operators and other communications companies, both in the region and globally, with greater choice, value, diversity and resilience. For more information, please visit www.gbiinc.com

For more information, contact:
Harrison Rice
Edelman, UAE
Harrison.Rice@Edelman.com
M: +971 50 661 8611
L: +971 24178527
F: +971 24178500

© Press Release 2012