Soaring data consumption in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is prompting action in the form of a new Internet Exchange that is claimed to cut latency by 80%, with a corresponding 70% reduction in costs.
The UAE-IX is set to open for business on October 1, to meet growing demand for services including high-definition TV (HDTV), online gaming, multimedia and cloud computing in countries including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, UAE, the Sultanate of Oman, and the Republic of Yemen. The Exchange has been ordered by the UAE’s Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA), with expertise provided by German experts DE-CIX Management.
Cost and latency reductions are achieved by providing direct traffic exchange in the region - cutting out the need to route traffic through Europe, North America or Asia Pacific.
Harald Summa, managing director of DE-CIX Management, says the Exchange will turn the region “into an independent international hub for the digital economy,” and will “attract Internet service providers from Europe, Africa and even India, Pakistan and China.”
The TRA agreed in a written statement. “The UAE Internet Exchange will dramatically improve the end-customer experience for connected operators.”