· Middle East-Europe Terrestrial System (MEETS) is a partnership between du, Vodafone, Zain and Zajil
· Customers to benefit from an improved data connectivity experience
· MEETS is an open cable system, which aims to make regional connectivity less expensive and more competitive
· MEETS will enable a terrestrial route to Europe with higher reliability

In a major regional telecommunications development, a GCC-wide telecoms consortium has been formed to build a high-bandwidth regional transmission cable system for the region. The system, to be called the Middle East-Europe Terrestrial System (MEETS) – was both conceived and co-promoted by du, Vodafone, Zain and Zajil.

MEETS was announced at a press conference held today in Dubai on the sidelines of the Telecoms World Middle East event. Attendees included Osman Sultan, CEO, du; Niraj Singh, Business Services Director, Vodafone Qatar; Henri Kassab, Group Director of International Wholesale and Roaming, Zain Group and Head of Mada Bahrain; Khalifa Al-Soulah, MD & CEO, Zajil Telecom; and, Mahesh Jaishankar, Vice President, datamena.

du will be the landing party in the UAE while Vodafone Qatar Q.S.C. will be in Qatar, Zain in Saudi Arabia, and Zajil in Bahrain and Kuwait. A state-of-the-art 100G optical transport network (OTN) will be built on top of a 1,400km terrestrial fibre optic cable to sustain the growing bandwidth demand of the region. MEETS will cater to regional and international ICT companies, meeting their wholesale capacity needs, while providing a connection to new areas and end customers.

MEETS is designed to be an economically and technically competitive alternative for connectivity within the Gulf; it will also enable a terrestrial route to Europe for reduced latency and higher reliability. Carriers will be able to access MEETS from the Fujairah Landing Station or at the carrier neutral hub datamena.

Osman Sultan, CEO, du, said: “Customers in the Middle East today have ever-increasing high speed data needs as it is becoming an integral part of today’s lifestyle. The announcement of MEETS with like-minded visionary partners is a step towards realizing this need. We are proud to be part of this joint effort that will eventually benefit millions of internet users and telecom customers over a wide geography spanning the Middle East and Europe.”

Scott Gegenheimer, Group CEO, Zain Group, said: “Through the creation of MEETS, we will bring a higher quality of data connectivity and content to our customers in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Bahrain. Providing an unsurpassed internet experience will help Zain to retain and attract new customers as well as complement our LTE 4G expansion strategy and support our planned roll-out of dynamic Enterprise services to corporate clients.”

Kyle Whitehill, CEO, Vodafone Qatar, echoed that statement, saying: “This exciting new development is a significant part of Vodafone’s growing commitment to the Middle East region. The UAE is a natural hub for Vodafone operating companies in Asia, Africa and Europe to exchange traffic with each other and partners. We are also pleased to be able to enhance Qatar’s global connectivity in this way, in support of the National Vision 2030. Moreover, to have the opportunity to do so with some of our strongest partners, delivering new levels of customer choice and satisfaction ahead of widespread availability of 4G will further drive bandwidth demand across the region. It is truly an exciting project for Vodafone Qatar and the Vodafone Group.” 
Khalifa Al-Soulah, MD and CEO, Zajil Telecom said: “The Middle East is one of the fastest growing regions in the world, which creates an ever growing demand for bandwidth. Regional telecoms need more bandwidth to meet this demand and sustain the growth, as well as more options. MEETS is one such option offered by strong and stable consortium of Telecom partners.”

MEETS will have an initial capacity of 200Gbps and be carried over an Optical Ground Wire associated with a regional high-tension electricity network – reducing the risk of cable cuts. The system will be managed by a 24/7 Network Operating Centre (NOC).

-Ends- 

About du:
We opened for business in 2006. We offer mobile and fixed telephony, broadband connectivity and IPTV services to individuals, homes and businesses. We also provide carrier services for businesses and satellite up/downlink services for TV broadcasters.
As a rapidly-growing enterprise, we have a team of experts working to enhance and expand our bouquet of service offerings. Our people come from over 60 countries - we mirror the rich cultural diversity of our nation, while being able to serve our customers in a variety of languages. Over 50percentage of our senior management team and customer-facing employees are UAE nationals, and we remain committed to providing fulfilling opportunities for quality talent in a cosmopolitan working environment.
By the end of Q1 2013, more than 6.6  million people and over 50,000 businesses have chosen to use our services. In a survey conducted by ARC Chart, we were named the Best Mobile Broadband Network 2012 in the Middle East and Africa region. We also ranked first in MENA’s Standard & Poor/Hawkamah Environmental, Social and Corporate Governance Index in 2011.  du is 39.5 percent owned by Emirates Investment Authority, 20.081 percent by Mubadala Development Company PJSC, 19.5 percent by Emirates Communications and Technology LLC and the remaining stake by public shareholders. du is listed on the Dubai Financial Market (DFM) and trades under the name ‘du’.
For further information, please contact: 
 
Saugat Chatterjee
Brand & Communications
du
Mobile: plus971 55 9367045
Email: saugat.chatterjee@du.ae  

About Vodafone Qatar Q.S.C.:
Vodafone Qatar Q.S.C. ("Vodafone Qatar") is the holder of the Second Public Mobile and Fixed Telecommunications Networks and Services License in the State of Qatar. 
Vodafone Qatar switched on its mobile network on 1 March 2009 and shortly after started delivering great value to its customers with a range of exciting products and services.  Having built a world class converged IP network, Vodafone launched fibre-based consumer and enterprise fixed-line services commercially in October 2012 and will further expand its fibre services in conjunction with Qnbn deployment of Fibre to Homes and Corporates.
Vodafone’s objective is to be the most admired brand in Qatar and the Company is committed to providing world class telecommunications infrastructure to support His Highness The Emir’s Qatar National Vision 2030. Please visit www.vodafone.qa for more details.
For press enquiries, please contact:
Hala Kassab
E-mail: hala.kassab@vodafone.com

About Zain Group:

Zain is a leading telecommunications operator across the Middle East and Africa providing mobile voice and data services to over 44.4 million active customers as of 30 June, 2013. With a commercial presence in 8 countries, Zain operates in: Kuwait, Bahrain, Iraq, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Sudan and South Sudan. In Lebanon, the Group manages ‘touch’ on behalf of the government. In Morocco, Zain has a 15.5percentage stake in Wana Telecom, now branded ‘INWI’, through a joint venture. Zain is listed on the Kuwait Stock Exchange (stock ticker: ZAIN).

For more, please email info@zain.com or visit:
www.zain.com
www.facebook.com/zain
www.twitter.com/zain
www.youtube.com/zain
www.instagram.com/zaingroup

About Zajil Telecom:

Zajil Telecom is one of the region's leading ICT providers today and as such cable capacity is of utmost importance to sustain the growth in this region Through its partnership in MEETS, Zajil is looking at providing its customers in Kuwait and Bahrain with a reliable alternative to existing submarine routes. In doing so, Zajil will be meeting its customers demands in terms of performance and competitive commercial expectations. 

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