A UNIQUE teleport and data processing service has been launched in the kingdom which aims to open up cyber access to the rest of the world via independent internet provision.
Three years in the planning and construction, Gateway Gulf is operating out of a brand new, state-of-the-art network operations centre in Manama where it offers teleport - satellite communication beaming data through space - facilities connecting Africa and the Middle and Near East regions with each other and the rest of the world.
And it is part of a consortium of six companies, backed by the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority, which are working to build a new internet connection fibre outside the kingdom.
This new connection is expected to be operational by the end of the year and will marry up with international cables in Saudi Arabia allowing carrier neutral internet exchange, meaning customers will have access to internet providers from all around the globe rather than being restricted to those currently offered on the island.
Gateway Gulf's regional director Miguel Dainesi said: "Reducing the reliance on existing providers will mean more service vendors and increased competition which, in turn, will bring down the price of internet connection, which is currently quite expensive. We are not tied to any one provider so can offer a completely carrier (provider) neutral facility."
The company also operates a data centre, behind a three-metre-high wall with 24-hour patrols and biometric security, where client companies can store back-up data and servers which can be brought into play in the event of the need for disaster recovery and remote operating away from the client's own premises.
And the whole operation is supported by a system of generators and batteries so that should power outage occur the precious data will be unaffected.
Speaking on the launch of the new venture at a time of financial uncertainty, Mr Dainesi said: "If anything, this is actually positive for us as, through the data centre, we offer an outsourced back-up systems rather than businesses having to build their own off-site.
"And the carrier neutral capability will also mean we can offer more cost-effective internet solutions at a time when businesses are looking for greater efficiency.
"We also offer managed services in data processing, which basically means that we can undertake the operations usually performed by a company's own data processing unit, which again can provide a cost saving."
