Leading international ICT service provider PCCW Global, in collaboration with Naitel, a licensed telecommunications service provider in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, have enhanced Middle Eastern international connectivity and expanded the region’s network reach by extending PCCW Global’s growing global Tier 1 network coverage via a new IP node in Aqaba, Jordan.
This new unique geographic position ensures that the Gulf Corporation Council (GCC) region has access to high-speed connectivity and state-of-the-art network automation via Console Connect, a global platform for Software-Defined Interconnection®.
The new Point of Presence in Aqaba, which is located in a carrier-neutral facility, provides the Middle East with a new level of connectivity using PCCW Global’s advanced, resilient and automated Tier 1 network, and caters to the increasing demand of global wholesale and enterprise customers in the region. Aqaba is PCCW Global’s latest addition to the carrier’s extensive global network of over 120 on-net Points of Presence (PoPs) in 52 countries and 81 cities.
In addition, Console Connect incorporates network automation software that delivers on-demand access to PCCW Global’s dependable, high-speed global private network, enabling users to quickly spin up network connections when required. Users are able to utilize the platform to automatically order global IP transit (AS3491) services and private MPLS links on-demand, bypassing the public Internet and directly connecting to cloud providers, content providers, applications partners, and any community on the platform.
The multi-award-winning Console Connect platform provides a new level of speed and agility that can be achieved in just a few clicks with a simple, easy-to-use web portal. Console Connect can also be integrated directly into enterprise applications via an API, providing robust and secure enterprise-wide access to partner infrastructure and leading cloud service providers throughout the world including Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, as well as Google, Tencent, Alibaba, IBM, and Oracle cloud services.
Mr. Sameh Sobhy, Managing Director, Middle East, Turkey, Africa, PCCW Global, said: “Aqaba is an important strategic location for development. Our goal is to bring the latest, most innovative, fast, and robust services to customers in the GCC region. Network automation makes it possible for users to manage and control their own data resources by accessing a wide variety of cloud services and content on top of our state-of-the-art data network.”
The development of the new node in Jordan is strategically aligned with other PCCW Global network expansion and connectivity projects in the EMEA region, including the innovative Pakistan & East Africa Connecting Europe (PEACE) cable project.
The PEACE cable system is a 12,000 km-long, 200G, and 16T/FP privately owned cable system connecting three of the largest and most populous continents in the world — Asia, Africa, and Europe. On schedule to be completed next year, the PEACE subsea cable system will provide the shortest and most direct data route from Asia to Europe, assuring exceptionally low latency, which is vitally important for people and organizations to leverage the innovative use of ICT in the region and around the world.
PEACE connects countries on both sides of the Mediterranean and provides connectivity for the Middle East en route between Europe and Asia.