The Minister of Communications and Information Technology, Amr Talaat, has witnessed the signing of an agreement between Telecom Egypt (the first integrated telecom operator in Egypt and one of the largest subsea cable operators) and Raya Information Technology (Raya IT), a subsidiary of Raya Holding for Financial Investments.
The aim is to implement the second phase of Telecom Egypt’s Regional Data Hub (RDH) to transform the telecommunications industry by providing enhanced connectivity, reliability, and sustainability for its customers.
The agreement was signed by the Managing Director and CEO of Telecom Egypt, Mohamed Nasr Eldin, and the CEO of Raya IT, Hesham Abdel Rassoul.
The second phase is due for launch in 18 months. It will help address the need to meet growing demand following the resounding success of RDH first phase, which reached full utilization in just one year.
Launching Innovative Technological Solutions
Under the agreement, Raya IT team will offer a set of services for the new RDH phase and will provide the latest advanced and innovative technological solutions to support business growth in the digital landscape, thus enhancing RDH scalability and adaptability in the ever-changing digital world. The range of services includes data center design and planning, data center construction, power infrastructure, cooling solutions, physical security, fire suppression systems, and rack and cabinet installation.
The advanced design will follow international sustainability standards, address the pressing issue of rising energy costs, and will reduce the environmental impact. Raya IT will also facilitate the acquisition of the Uptime Institute Tier III Certification in design, constructed facility, and operational sustainability for this second phase. This certification reaffirms Telecom Egypt's unwavering commitment to delivering exceptional service quality and ensuring a resilient infrastructure for its customers.
The second phase of RDH is strategically located to act as a regional hub offering scalability options to phase one customers, while also providing seamless connectivity to all 10 Mediterranean and Red Sea subsea landing stations. It also offers businesses a unique opportunity to expand globally, with access to over 60 countries.
Upon completion of phase two, RDH will boast a capacity of up to 7.1 MW IT load. The future plan includes developing two more phases within the Smart Village availability zone, aiming to achieve a total capacity of up to 16.3 MW IT load.
Leveraging this capacity, current RDH customers and new potential customers can swiftly scale and adapt to the rapidly evolving digital landscape. This capacity will also enrich the end-user experience, mark a new step in the Digital Egypt strategy, and propel Egypt to become one of the world's major data hubs.
It is worth mentioning that the first phase of RDH launched in the first quarter of 2021. The facility is currently at full capacity, accommodating the majority of local Internet service providers (ISPs) and over 22 international customers. These include cloud providers, content providers, and EG-IX, which is the first open-access regional Internet Exchange platform developed in partnership with AMS-IX, Europe's foremost Internet Exchange platform.
Fostering Innovation Through Development
Nasr highlighted that Telecom Egypt proudly demonstrates its unwavering dedication to achieving excellence and fostering innovation through the remarkable development of the second phase of RDH. This new phase is a groundbreaking achievement that establishes unprecedented benchmarks in data center connectivity, reliability, and sustainability. By embracing this state-of-the-art infrastructure, organizations can thrive in an era defined by digital transformation and interconnectivity, he added.
With improved services and increased redundancy, the cutting-edge data center will be ready to meet increasing co-location demands, ensuring top-notch performance, stated Nasr. The expansion will solidify the company's position as the number one choice for businesses that prioritize risk management and low-latency performance in data center services, he added.
Abdel Rassoul underlined that Raya IT is honored to be selected by Telecom Egypt to take part in the fulfillment of its second phase of RDH. He highlighted the role that Raya IT has played in the remarkable evolution of Telecom Egypt in the past two decades. Capitalizing on its extended track record of successful data center projects with large enterprises across the MEA region, combined with a team of experts, Raya IT has enabled its clientele to achieve enhanced levels of business performance through a number of cutting-edge solutions, he further stated.
Abdel Rassoul underscored that Raya IT is eager to support Telecom Egypt in its journey towards transforming the telecommunication industry by providing innovative data center solutions. The power-efficient solutions provided by Raya IT meet the highest data center standards, aligning with Egypt Vision 2030 and Egypt's digital transformation strategy, he added.
The integration of advanced technologies signals a commitment to staying at the forefront of industry innovations, with potential economic impacts through stimulated economic activities and investments. Ultimately, the implementation represents a strategic move towards transforming the telecommunications sector, ensuring it remains competitive and responsive to evolving user needs.