Telecom Egypt Advances Data Hub Expansion with Raya IT for Enhanced Telecom Infrastructure

Telecom Egypt has selected Raya Information Technology (Raya IT), a subsidiary of Raya Holding for Financial Investments, to implement the second phase of Telecom Egypt’s Regional Data Hub (RDH). This second phase of the state-of-the-art data center—slated for launch in 18 months—is poised to transform the telecommunications industry by providing enhanced connectivity, reliability, and sustainability for its customers. The decision to expand was prompted by the need to meet growing demand following the resounding success of RDH’s first phase, which reached full utilization in just one year.

Under this collaboration, Raya IT’s experience team will provide a range of services for the new RDH phase, as well the latest solution and top-notch innovative technology to support business growth in the digital landscape, thereby enhancing the data center’s scalability and adaptability in the ever-changing digital world. The range of services includes data center design and planning, data center construction, power infrastructure, cooling solutions, physical security, fire suppression systems, and rack and cabinet installation.

The advanced design will adhere to international sustainability standards, address the pressing issue of rising energy costs, and minimize the environmental impact. Raya IT will also facilitate acquisition of the Uptime Institute Tier III Certification in Design, Constructed Facility, and Operational Sustainability for this second phase. This certification reaffirms Telecom Egypt’s unwavering commitment to delivering exceptional service quality and ensuring a resilient infrastructure for its customers.

The second phase of RDH is strategically located to act as a regional hub offering scalability options to all phase one RDH customers, while also providing seamless connectivity to all 10 Mediterranean and Red Sea subsea landing stations. It also offers businesses a unique opportunity to expand globally, with access to over 60 countries.

Upon completion of this second phase, RDH will boast a capacity of up to 7.1 MW IT load. The future plan involves construction of two additional phases within the Smart Village availability zone—to reach a total capacity of up to 16.3MW IT load. Leveraging this capacity, current RDH customers and new potential customers can swiftly scale and adapt in the rapidly evolving digital landscape. This capacity will also enrich the end user experience, mark a new step in the Digital Egypt strategy and propel Egypt to become one of the world’s major data hubs.

It is worth mentioning that the first phase of RDH launched in the first quarter of 2021. As previously mentioned, it is now fully utilized–hosting most of the local ISPs and more than 22 international customers, comprising cloud providers, content providers, as well as EG-IX, the first open access regional Internet Exchange platform in partnership with AMS-IX, Europe’s the leading Internet Exchange platform.

Telecom Egypt proudly demonstrates its unwavering dedication to achieving excellence and fostering innovation through the remarkable development of the second phase of RDH. This new phase is a groundbreaking achievement that establishes unprecedented benchmarks in data center connectivity, reliability, and sustainability. By embracing this state-of-the-art infrastructure, organizations can thrive in an era defined by digital transformation and interconnectivity.

With improved services and increased redundancy, the cutting-edge data center will be ready to meet increasing co-location demands, ensuring top-notch performance. We believe that this expansion will solidify the company’s position as the number one choice for businesses who prioritize risk management and low-latency performance in data center services.

Mohamed Nasr, Managing Director, and Chief Executive Officer, Telecom Egypt

It’s such an honor to be selected by Telecom Egypt to take part in the fulfillment of its second phase of the RDH. In this context, we take pride in the role that Raya IT has played in the remarkable evolution of Telecom Egypt in the past 2 decades. Capitalizing on our extended track-record of successful data center projects with large enterprises across the MEA region, combined with our team of expertise, we have enabled our clientele to achieve enhanced levels of business performance through a number of cutting-edge solutions.

We are eager to support Telecom Egypt in its journey toward transforming the telecommunication industry by providing our innovative data center solutions. Our power-efficient solutions meet the highest data center standards, aligning with Egypt Vision 2030 and Egypt’s digital transformation strategy.

Hesham Abdel Rassoul, CEO, Raya IT LOB