Connection to Internet Exchange UAE-IX in Dubai Provides Alternative Routes in the Event of Submarine Cable Outages

PR52629

FRANKFURT, Germany and DUBAI, UAE, Apr. 4, /PRN=KYODO JBN/ --

    In the past week a number of submarine cables suffered major outages,

severely disrupting internet connectivity between the Middle East, Asia, Africa

and Europe. Renesys, a provider of information on worldwide internet

operations, reported in its blog that EASSy, SEACOM and Sea-Me-We-4 (SMW4)

submarine cables suffered disruptions. EASSy and SEACOM outages temporarily

wiped out internet connectivity in parts of East Africa, from Djibouti to South

Africa. Sea-We-Me-4, the primary internet backbone between Southeast Asia, the

Indian subcontinent, the Middle East and Europe, failed on 27 March 2013 at

6:20 UTC, leading to a widespread disruption of internet services from Egypt

all the way to Pakistan.

    "When submarine cables are cut, it's critically important to have access to

backup paths with sufficient capacity to carry traffic to affected

destinations", explains Jim Cowie, Chief Technology Officer and co-founder of

Renesys.  "Carrier-neutral data centres and internet exchange points play an

important role here.  Maintaining a presence at an IX maximizes your options

for re-establishing high-performance route diversity during a submarine cable

outage event."  

    Since October 2012, the UAE-IX internet exchange in Dubai has been

operating as an internet hub between Europe, Africa and Asia. Almost 20

international and regional ISPs exchange traffic here. "Higher connectivity can

reduce the impact of submarine cable cuts for ISPs and their customers in the

Middle East, East Africa and South Asia", says Harald Summa, CEO of DE-CIX

Management GmbH, which manages UAE-IX. "When they interconnect at the UAE-IX, a

more robust internet infrastructure for the entire region emerges. This type of

increased resilience is to the benefit of all providers and internet users."

    Full press release: http://go.de-cix.net/uae-ix_seacable

    Press Contact: Birgit Osterholt

                   +49-(0)69-1730902-53

                   birgit.osterholt@de-cix.net

           SOURCE: DE-CIX Management GmbH