In an unprecedented move among telecom companies in the Middle East and Africa, Cisco Systems completed building state-of-the-art data routing systems for Saudi Telecommunications Company (STC) with the aim of upgrading its main public data network to provide an increased range of data services. Earlier, STC unveiled plans to deploy one million DSL Lines and to meet such promise, the company implemented massive schemes to set up in a record time one of the largest and most sophisticated data networks in the region. The move further reinforces Saudi Arabia's position as a regional leader in the communications industry.
In a project that was executed in just eight weeks which is a record time by international standards, STC has completed deploying nine units of the new Cisco Routing System-1 platform (CRS-1) at all core points of presence across the Kingdom, interconnected by wide-area network links. These units were introduced into service to satisfy increasing demand on DSL lines by households and companies. STC selected Cisco Systems equipment as the leading networking company in the world to be the nucleus of the forthcoming generation of communication networks in KSA. The current network enjoys a capacity of 2.5 TBPS (Terabits per second) and can be upgraded to 900 TBPS.
Its advanced architectural and engineering features, which use the industry’s first true fiber optic interface, allow STC to reduce the operational expenditures throughout its core network by collapsing disparate, stand-alone networks into a common, single core. This in turn qualifies the system to deliver increased capacity, performance, predictability and continuous operation.
STC is the first telecom operator in the Middle East and Africa to adopt CRS-1 as the largest routing system in the history of the communications industry. "We adopted top-notch routing systems to manage the large volumes of data to meet the huge growth in the use of diversified communication services such as voice, video, data and multimedia," Khaled Al-Ajlan, VP, Network Sector, STC, said. “We will continue to work on providing a data network that will function as a solid base for the next-generation network (NGN). We aspire to offer a wide scope of innovative services for the applications anticipated by our customers. STC works hard for a bright future,” Al-Ajlan added.
Dr. Badr Albadr, Cisco Systems General Manager in Saudi Arabia commented that the new system aims at upgrading next-generation networks “to enable them to carry data, voice and video applications," Albadr added, “It also sets new criteria in the communications industry such as dependability, flexibility to accommodate the services required by DSL subscribers and the ability to be upgraded. Such criteria enable STC to reduce its operational expenditure allowing it eventually to provide the latest multimedia services for companies and individuals.”
© 2006 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
