Etihad Etisalat's data subsidiary, Bayanat has signed wholesale agreements with three different Retail Service Providers to serve the community in Yanbu through Open Access Network. FTTH Mobily, Sahara Net and Shabakah Net are going to provide smart city services for the residential and industrial areas at Yanbu industrial city. The signing ceremony for these agreements was held in the presence of the Chief Executive Officer of Royal commission for Jubail & Yanbu Dr. Alaa Bin Abdullah Nassif; also in attendance were Dr. Akil Al Akil, general manger of Bayanat company and Omar Al Rasheed, executive general manger for the Mega projects in Mobily. Dr. Nassif said that the agreement would help provide Internet services for 1,500 housing units in Yanbu industrial city; it will also provide modern digital environment conducive to creativity, learning and provision of improved health services ensuring sustainable environment for the residents of the industrial city. He added that the Royal Commission in Yanbu is seeking to convert the industrial city of Yanbu to Smart City by upgrading the basic infrastructure of the city; this is being accomplished by building a 3000 km long fiber network utilizing state of the art international equipment, with capacity to accommodate future expansion of the residential area, heavy and light industries area and various businesses. In addition to this, two fully equipped data centers are being established — equipped with latest hardware and software to provide secure host services to businesses in the vicinity at competitive rates. Dr. Akil expressed satisfaction on the ability of Bayanat to complete and deliver the project and maintaining optimal quality standards. He termed Bayanat a strategic partner to the Kingdom in general and Royal Commission of Yanbu in particular for development and implementation of Smart Cities, which will lead to significant socioeconomic development in the Kingdom. Bayanat team has already completed and announced the rollout and implementation of the network infrastructure based on the Strategic Partnership Agreement with the Royal Commission, based on build-operate-transfer (BOT) model. The purpose is to enable other Retail Service Providers to utilize the robust platform developed by Bayanat team for provision of necessary services to the customers in Yanbu area. This marks first implementation of such fair and just model for all Retail and Internet Service Providers through Open Access Network in the Kingdom. — SG
