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VIVA Bahrain and British-based telecom giant BT announced the launch of the kingdom’s Global IP Exchange (GIPX) interoperability hub this week.
The local telecommuni-cations services provider will deliver hosting and connectivity, whilst providing a new route to market for its partner’s Global IP Exchange Voice and interoperability services in the region. It will also enable BT to extend its Global IP Exchange footprint to the Middle East.
Ulaiyan Al Wetaid, CEO of VIVA Bahrain, said: “For consumers, applications such as HD voice, video calling, and Wi-Fi roaming and 4G-roaming will become easier to access and less expensive than they are today.”
The new GIPX hub is expected to be of particular interest to mobile and fixed service providers across countries such as Bahrain, Qatar, UAE, Jordan, Oman, Saudi Arabia and Egypt who need to terminate international voice traffic to other countries.
By using the GIPX hub, the operators will benefit from convenient, simplified and seamless access, enabling them to provide their end customers with fully interoperable services and innovative products. The hub unlocks significant pull-through business for mobile roaming, Wi-Fi roaming and other future IP Exchange propositions.
Wael El-Kabbany, managing director, Middle East and North Africa, BT Global Services, said the move was a key building block in the execution of the company’s strategy aiming at rolling out a fully-federated Global IP Exchange infrastructure around the world.
The move has been welcomed by the authorities. Minister of Transportation and Telecommunications Kamal bin Ahmed Mohammed said: “This launch reaffirms our kingdom as a regional leader in the telecommunications industry and underlines our Government’s commitment to building a strong knowledge-based economy. We are convinced that cost effectiveness and faster connectivity will also reinforce Bahrain’s position as an attractive business-friendly environment.”
