Saudi National Fiber Network Awards Cisco Multi-year Managed Services Contract

Cisco announced today that the Saudi National Fiber Network (SNFN) the consortium of  Mobily (Etihad Etisalat Company), the Integrated Telecom Company (ITC), and Bayanat Al Oula, has chosen to work with Cisco as part of a three-year contract, extendable for a further two years, to provide tailor-made smart Managed Services to operate the Saudi National Fiber Network. 

The SNFN Consortium, one of the biggest optical networks in the globe, is focused on providing communications services and solutions, mobile, broadband services, interconnection and satellite services, international operators and individuals in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. With Cisco Managed Services solutions, the Consortium will be able to offer their customer’s the latest, cost-effective solutions for OPEX optimization, state-of-the-art technology/ smart services solutions. By leveraging the tools, processes and resources that Cisco will provide, OPEX expenditure will ultimately be optimized by more than 25%.

Highlights / Key Facts:

The Saudi National Fiber Network (SNFN) was established as a joint collaboration between Mobily, Bayanat Al Oula for Network Services Ltd (a Mobily subsidiary company) and the Integrated Telecom Company Ltd (ITC). It offers the newest fiber optic network in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, with access to all major cities, more than 22,000 km of roads and highways, and covering 99% of the population. The network, with its fully meshed connectivity and ample capacity, covers more than 13,800 km across more than 35 major cities across the Kingdom and delivers up to 40/100Gbps and Ethernet services. The network has also been expanded to connect neighboring countries, like Yemen, UAE, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait and Jordan, with more to be added in the near future.

A key factor of success was to tailor services for the Consortium, rather than relying on off-the-shelf solutions. Cisco will provide a 24/7 Network Operations Center (NOC) and also manage the end-to-end network ISP/OSP through offering full Managed Services ranging from Fault Management, Change and Configuration Management to Optimization and Performance management leveraging Cisco’s capabilities in services automation thereby allowing the Consortium to focus on their business top and bottom lines driven through robust and innovative GTM, user experience, customer retention and acquisition. 

As the Internet of Everything (IoE) continues to create more connections that require an increasing share of IT staff resources Cisco Managed Services will give the Consortium a leading edge, without adding new resources or risk. The solutions will enable them to implement business-enabling technologies and capabilities such as collaboration, video, BYOD, cloud, and virtualization delivered via a robust network and specialized expertise.

Executive Quotes:

Maziad Nasser Al-Harbi, CTO at Mobily

 “Managed Services is a paradigm shift in the way organizations consume operations expenditure, driving operational efficiencies and network performance to the international industry standards. As a leading service provider in Saudi Arabia, by entering into this agreement with Cisco we will be able to ensure that our customers ultimately will receive the best quality of service that goes beyond expectations enabling us to address the needs of all enterprises.”

Ashraf Ismail Mohamed Ibrahim, Senior Executive Officer, Operations & Maintenance, Mobily “MNS excellence is an elusive goal for all operators and service provider, but Mobily and Bayanat Al Oula will continue our commitment towards our customers to reach that goal because excellence is in our blood as leading service providers in Saudi Arabia. By having Cisco as our MNS contractor we will assure continued business excellence to our customers.”

Mouin Abdullah, CTO, ITC

“Strategically, we are keen to always enhance our customer’s experience and enrich the way our customers manage their businesses with best service quality in KSA.  Through this partnership with Cisco, we are committed toward this strategy providing state-of- the-art managed services engagement for one of our core investments for national and international business solutions”

Amjad Al-Ashqar - Vice President Operations, ITC

“Since its inception, the SNFN network has created great value to our corporate and carrier customers. Our collaboration with Cisco is another important milestone for the Consortium’s continued development to further enhance the overall network performance along with operational agility toward our goal of always exceeding our customer' expectations with highest service quality”

Paolo Campoli, Global Service Provider Business Leader and Service Provider Sales CTO, Cisco, Middle East & Africa

“We are honored that the consortium has chosen to work with Cisco to operate managed services for the SNFN network. The demand for managed services globally is growing as companies strive to streamline their OPEX, as well as become digitized, in order to fully embrace the Internet of Everything era. By leveraging Cisco managed network services, the SNFN Consortium will maximize its offering, as well as reach new market segments.”