GPX TO EXPAND ITS MARKET-LEADING CAIRO 2 DATA CENTER ADDING 12 MW OF POWER AND 1800 RACKS

New York, U.S.A. | Cairo, Egypt – May 1, 2023-  GPX Global Systems Inc., the premier provider of carrier-neutral data center services in Africa in collaboration with Redcon Group today announced a new investment in Cairo, Egypt of EGP 2.7 billion to expand its Cairo 2 data center. The expansion will add an additional 12MW of power and 9,000 M2 of space bringing GPX’s total equipped space in the Cairo market to 12,600 M2.

GPX has established itself as the leading high-availability, carrier-neutral data center provider in Egypt and is recognized for its outstanding customer service and its 99.999% uptime guarantee. GPX provides colocation to the largest enterprise customers in Egypt and the region.

The GPX Cairo 2 expansion will be a Rated-4 certified purpose-built facility with 12MW of power and support for high power density applications and 52U cabinets, along with rich interconnectivity. Phase one of the expansion will be customer ready early the first quarter of 2025.

H.E. Dr. Amr Talaat commented: “The data center industry is a major building block in our Digital Egypt Strategy. The Ministry of Communications and Information Technology (MCIT) is adamant to create an attractive environment for investments in the data center industry. Egypt’s geographical location, coupled with its extensive global submarine cable partnerships, and resilient local infrastructure are all conducive to its prominence in this industry, and we’re working to further build upon these advantages.”

Nick Tanzi, President & CEO, GPX Global Systems Inc., commented: “GPX is expanding its critical role in supporting the digital transformation of Egypt and its Digital Egypt Strategy. Our company has been operating in Egypt for over 15 years and this new investment supports our strong belief that Egypt is an essential hub for global internet infrastructure and a vibrant growth market”.

Tarek El Gamal, Chairman of Redcon Group, commented:   “Our involvement in the construction of the GPX Data Center in 2013 has been a significant testimony of our commitment to contributing towards the advancement of the technological sector.  We understand the critical role Data Centers play in today’s interconnected world and we are dedicated to foster innovation and provide construction solutions that meet the ever-evolving demands of the industry”.

About GPX:

GPX builds and operates next-generation Tier 4, private, carrier-neutral data centers in emerging commercial markets. The company offers highly reliable and secure carrier-neutral data centers to domestic and international clients looking to colocate their mission-critical business infrastructure. GPX has been recognized as the premier provider of carrier-neutral colocation facilities within African markets.

More on GPX here: https://www.gpxglobal.net/

About Redcon Group:

REDCON Construction is considered one of the top EPC contractors among the top 5 Egyptian companies operating in Egypt. REDCON has been serving the domestic and international markets for 30 years and is currently expanding in the region with its new Saudi office. We have a group of nine companies working in the fields of Construction, Real Estate Development, and construction nurturing industries such as Pre-Cast, Aluminium, GRC, Metalworks, etc.

More on REDCON here: www.redcon.group

PR- https://arabnewswire.com/gpx-global-systems-inc-announces-a-major-expansion-of-its-cairo-data-center/

GPX GLOBAL SYSTEMS INC. MEDIA CONTACT: Michael J. Morrisroe, Director Ireland, +353 879799136, [email protected]

REDWOOD CITY, CALIF.Sept. 1, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Equinix, Inc. (Nasdaq: EQIX), the world’s digital infrastructure company™, announced today that it has extended Platform Equinix into the strategic Indian market, following the completion of the acquisition of the INDIA operations of GPX Global Systems, Inc. (“GPX India”). The US$161 million all-cash transaction includes a fiber-connected campus in MUMBAI with two data centers.

Equinix’s expansion into India will unlock opportunities for Indian businesses expanding internationally and for multinational corporations pursuing growth and innovation in the Indian market. With the upcoming 5G rollout in the country, companies can get ahead in the digital era with Equinix and benefit from the ability to accelerate their evolution from traditional to digital businesses by rapidly digitizing and scaling their infrastructure, easily adopting hybrid multi-cloud architectures and interconnecting with more than 350 international brands and local companies in India.

Equinix India will be led by Managing Director Manoj Paul, a veteran with more than two decades of experience who will leverage his deep insights into the local data center industry to support the digital transformation journeys of businesses in India.

Highlights/Key Facts:

  • From the acquisition, the two new International Business Exchange™ (IBX®) data centers in Mumbai, dubbed Equinix MB1 and MB2, form a network-dense data center campus with more than 350 international brands and local companies, including the world’s leading cloud service providers (CSPs), global networks, content delivery network (CDN) providers, all local carriers, 170 internet service providers (ISPs) and five internet exchanges.
  • Home to the digital infrastructure of numerous global organizations, the two data centers in Mumbai provides an initial 1,350 cabinets, with an additional 500 cabinets to build out. The facilities will add more than 90,000 square feet of colocation space to Platform Equinix® when fully built.
  • Equinix’s Mumbai campus offers a cloud-dense environment and direct access to major cloud services, including AWS Direct Connect, Google Cloud Dedicated Interconnect, and Oracle Cloud Infrastructure FastConnect. It also hosts key internet exchanges such as AMS-IX India, Extreme IX, Mumbai IX-DE-CIX, National Internet Exchange of India (NIXI), and Bharat IX, allowing ISPs, carriers, CDNs, and large enterprises to exchange internet traffic.
  • Equinix plans to introduce a full range of interconnection and digital infrastructure services, including Equinix Connect, Equinix Internet Exchange®, Metro Connect, Equinix FabricTM and Network Edge, in the new data centers upon the completion of the business integration. This will enable customers in India to connect in real-time, directly and privately, to more than 10,000 companies, including more than 1,800 networks and 3,000 cloud and IT service providers, through Platform Equinix for increased performance, security and scale.
  • According to Frost & Sullivan, India is anticipated to become a US$2 trillion digital economy by 2030, growing at a 21% compound annual growth rate (CAGR). It also forecasts that 40% to 50% of Indian businesses will be taking a containerized hybrid multi-cloud approach for deploying applications by 2025.1 Digitalization and cloud adoption in India will be further accelerated by the upcoming rollout of 5G and ICT policy reforms of the government. The expansion of Platform Equinix will enable Indian businesses, as well as multinationals with a presence in India, to harness a trusted platform to bring together and interconnect the foundational infrastructure they need to power their success.
  • Current customers at GPX India will now be able to access Platform Equinix capabilities worldwide. For example, OPPO, a leading global smart device brand, has deployed in MB2 and is leveraging Zenlayer’s IP transit and IP peering services to support its critical IT operations in India, including the OPPO App Market Store, local official website, and end-user data. Today’s announcement will further support OPPO’s omnichannel strategy in India and its global expansion ambitions as it can easily replicate its digital infrastructure with Equinix in India to anywhere via Equinix’s global platform.
  • Over the years, Equinix has supported India-based partners, including HCL Technologies, Infosys, and Wipro, in deploying their customers’ digital infrastructure at Equinix IBX data centers outside of India.
  • Appointed as Managing Director of Equinix India, Manoj Paul has over 25 years of extensive experience in IT and telecom infrastructure. Prior to Equinix, he led the India operation of GPX India, helping it to emerge as India’s most prominent carrier-neutral and cloud-dense data center. Before joining GPX India, Paul spent 11 years with Bharti Airtel Ltd, where his last role was Chief Operating Officer (Enterprises) for the Western region.
  • Globally, Platform Equinix comprises more than 230 data centers across 65 metros and 27 countries, providing data center and interconnection services for more than 10,000 of the world’s leading businesses, including more than 50% of Fortune 500 companies. Today, Equinix operates 49 IBX data centers in Asia-Pacific across 13 metros in AustraliaChinaHong KongIndiaJapan, Korea, and Singapore.
  • In connection with this transaction, J.P. Morgan, Cyril Amarchand Mangaldas and Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India LLP were advisors to Equinix, and KPMG and Kanga & Co were advisors to GPX.

New York, U.S.A. August 10th, 2020 – GPX Global Systems Inc., the premier provider of carrier-neutral Edge data center services in Africa and South Asia, today announced the sale of its Indian operations to Equinix, Inc. (NASDAQ: EQIX), the all-cash transaction value of US$161 million is expected to close in Q4 2020, subject to customary closing conditions including regulatory approval.

Equinix is acquiring GPX’s leading high-availability, carrier-neutral edge data center business in India, consisting of 2 Tier 4 data centers. GPX Mumbai1 is a 30,000 sq/ft data center, and the recently opened Mumbai2 datacenter will a 60,000 sq/ft facility when fully built. The two facilities are interconnected with GPX’s Data Center Interconnect network. GPX‘s datacenters host the largest internet ecosystem in India including 12 Telcos, 130+ ISPs, 4 Internet Exchanges, 8 Cloud Service Providers, plus all of the leading global CDNs and content providers (OTTs) creating an unrivaled internet and cloud ecosystem.

Nick Tanzi, President & CEO, GPX Global Systems, commented; “after 7 years of building our business in India I could not think of any company better suited than Equinix to expand the platform GPX has created in India and help our customers continue to grow. Equinix and GPX share common business philosophies including a commitment to carrier neutrality, a passion for delivering the highest quality customer service in the market, and fostering the growth and development of our employees. I’d like to thank our customers for providing GPX the privilege of serving them over the last seven years, and also thank our employees for always putting our customers first and doing whatever was necessary to meet our customer’s needs.”

“GPX Global Systems will now turn its attention to growing our business throughout Africa using our Egyptian business as the anchor for our expansion. We believe Africa represents a very similar opportunity that drove our investments in India, including rapidly increasing mobile usage, increased subsea fiber investments, and ever-increasing growth in content consumption and data usage. We look to offer customers within new markets we expand to the same unparalleled service and support which has made GPX the first choice for customers in both Egypt and India “

KPMG India acted as the exclusive financial advisor and provided end-to-end advisory support and Kanga & Company (www.kangacompany.com) acted as the exclusive legal advisor to GPX Global Systems, Inc. on this transaction.

Release: https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/gpx-global-systems-inc-announces-the-sale-of-its-indian-operations-301109505.html

About GPX:

GPX builds and operates next-generation Tier 4, private, carrier-neutral data centers. GPX has been recognized as the premier provider of carrier-neutral colocation facilities within African and South Asian markets. www.gpxglobal.net

About Equinix

Equinix, Inc. (Nasdaq: EQIX) connects the world’s leading businesses to their customers, employees, and partners inside the most-interconnected data centers. On this global platform for digital business, companies come together across more than 50 markets on five continents to reach everywhere, interconnect everyone, and integrate everything they need to create their digital futures. www.equinix.com

COVID-19 Coronavirus Customer Update

Dear Customers,

We are all struggling with the Coronavirus Pandemic and its effect on our lives, family, friends, and businesses. Although there are no indications of any infected individuals who have visited our datacenters, we have implemented the following policies which are designed to minimize the future risk to our customers, and our critical staff who are essential to the operations of our datacenters.

  • Our first priority is to ensure the health and wellbeing of our employees, customers, and vendors. The following policies are in effect beginning March 15, 2020.
    • All non-essential GPX employees will work from home through Dec 31, 2021. We will modify this date based on the conditions within the countries we operate, and to comply with Governmental policies in each country.
    • GPX will be providing private transportation and hoteling options to its critical operations employees in order to minimize the use of public transportation.
    • Datacenter Restricted Access Through Dec 31, 2021:   
      • We have suspended all elective work within our Datacenters and have restricted access to GPX critical operational employees, customers, and security and cleaning staff only.
      • Effective immediately we request our Customers to restrict their data center access to critical activities only. We have expanded our Remote Hand Services to include racking and stacking, and server/hard drive replacement in conjunction with your NOC.
      • All non-GPX persons requesting access to the GPX Datacenters must complete a health and safety self-declaration form prior to entrance providing details on travel within the last 14 days and stating that they or their family members do not currently have any symptoms associated with the Coronavirus. We will deny access to any individuals who have:
        • traveled to a country on any restricted travel list in the last 14 days;
        • have symptoms of the Coronavirus;
        • or have family members who have symptoms associated with the Coronavirus.
        • we will modify this policy based on Government policies in the countries we operate.
      • GPX will take the temperature of each individual requesting access to our data centers including employees, vendors, and customers. Any individual with a temperature exceeding 37.5 Celcius / 99.5 Fahrenheit will not be allowed access to our data centers,

GPX will issue latex and non-latex gloves to every person entering our datacenters. These gloves must be worn at all times while in the data center (GPX employees will operate all biometric access points and sanitize them before and after each use).

We appreciate your business and thank you for your continued support.

*** WASH your hands well and often to avoid contamination

*** COVER your mouth and nose with a tissue or sleeve when coughing or sneezing and discard used tissue

*** AVOID touching eyes, nose, or mouth with unwashed hands

*** CLEAN and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces

*** DISTANCE yourself at least 2 meters (6 feet) away from other people, avoid close contact with others

 

The Minister of Communications and Information Technology Yasser ElKady has witnessed the ceremony of signing the license renewal contracts of Global Peering Exchange- Egypt (GPX) for five years to fit the new expansions undertaken by the company for its activity in Egypt. GPX is specialized in the field of designing, constructing and managing advanced data and information centers for information exchange and internet connection.

The National Telecom Regulatory Authority (NTRA) Acting Executive President Mustafa Abdul Wahid and GPX- Egypt Director Richard Norman Euler have signed the license.

ElKady stated that Egypt strongly supports the new investments aiming to expand the giant data centers, to make Egypt a global hub for those activities. He ascertained that such projects contribute to the optimization of Egypt’s distinguished geographical location and strong infrastructure network, especially the international cable network which positions Egypt in the ranks of the distinguished countries in this area.

The ICT Minister added that the renewal of Egypt GPX license is a significant step through which the company can develop its business, pump new investments in the Egyptian market and provide new job opportunities for young people in the field of building and managing data and information centers.

In response to the increasing demand for data services in Egypt and creating a supportive environment for the growth of cloud computing industries, digital content services, service continuity solutions and disaster recovery, the company set up a new data center, which the ICT Minister inaugurated last December. The center is the first of its kind in Egypt and North Africa, built in accordance with the highest international standards and provides ongoing service by up to 99.999% . in addition, there are many requests from GPX’s customers to host their company’s data in Cairo Center.

For his part, GPX Chairman Nick Tanzi has underlined the company’s trust in the Egyptian market as a strategic investment center and a gateway to the Middle East. He referred to the company’s commitment to provide the highest quality in the secured data services and business solutions from the company’s offices in Cairo. GPX Global Systems has offices in Southeast Asia and the Middle East regions besides the two data centers in Cairo. Tanzi has also seconded the performance level of Egyptian engineers and technicians and stated that the company employs them to establish and manage its centers around the world.

ICT Minister Witnesses Signing GPX License Renewal Contracts to Build Data Centers

GPX’s 2nd Cairo Data Centre Adds 3,000 Square Meters of Equipped Space

NEW YORK, NEW YORK–(Marketwired – Dec. 14, 2015) – GPX Global Systems Inc., a premier provider of carrier-neutral colocation data centre services within the MENA and South/South East Asian regions, today announced the opening of its second Data Centre facility in Cairo, Egypt.

The new world class TIER4 data centre, which provides 3,000 sqm of additional collocation space and 5 MW of power, enhances GPX’s capacity to provide highly reliable, secure colocation space offering our customers a 99.999% uptime guarantee.

Demand for data centre services is growing in Egypt driven by enterprise disaster recovery requirements, cloud computing, and content services providers. GPX’s new data centre located in fast growing Central Business District of New Cairo offers Egyptian and multi-national customers a secure and accessible location to support their colocation needs.

Since moving into the Egyptian market in 2007, GPX is now an established part of the data centre landscape and continues to bring online new customer capacity to support domestic and international demand for data centre services in Egypt. Together with its Tier 4 Datacenter in Mumbai, India GPX continues to expand its platform across the MENA, South Asian, and South East Asian regions.

Nick Tanzi, GPX President & CEO comments “Our Egyptian expansion highlights GPX’s leadership in the market and our continued commitment to provide world class data centres in strategic geographic locations like Egypt. With two of the most reliable data centre facilities in Egypt, customers can confidently deploy their mission critical applications and technology, and have access to world class telecommunications infrastructure enabling cost effective, secure, and highly resilient business solutions.”

About GPX: Incorporated in August 2002, GPX develops and operates state-of-the- art, private, carrier neutral Data Centre’s in emerging, but fast growing commercial markets along the MENA, South Asian, and South East Asian regions. GPX has offices in New York, Dublin, Cairo, and Mumbai.

Hesham Fattah
Regional Sales & Marketing Director
+(202) 2690-7490
[email protected]

gpx-logo

City: Cairo, Egypt

Under the auspices of H.E. Dr. Tarek Kamel, Minister of Communication and Information Technology. GPX Global Systems Inc., a premier provider of carrier neutral colocation facilities within the MENA and South Asian regions has today signed an agreement with Raya Smart Buildings, one of Egypt’s top developers of smart office/commercial buildings complexes, to build GPX’s second world class data center in Cairo, Egypt.

The new TIER4 data center is designed to reduce technology infrastructure costs and complexity for customers while improving quality and speeding the deployment of their IT projects. The data center will ultimately total 3000 square meters located at the heart of New Cairo’s business center and is a part of an investment which will exceed EGP 200 million. GPX also owns and operates a TIER 4 data center in Mumbai, India and is aggressively expanding in other locations in these regions.

Through this partnership, Raya Smart Buildings will be constructing a Smart Building facility on a land bank of 4000 square meters in New Cairo using the latest technologies. The facility will be considered the first in the Middle East to be built according to LEED Silver Level specifications and in line with the Green Buildings Architecture.

“In line with our expansion strategy in the Middle East, we choose a partner which has extensive experience and solid operations in the Egyptian market. With our deep experience in designing, building, and operating Internet Data Centers, and Raya’s track record in state-of-the-art building infrastructure, we are confident that our Internet Data Center will be the premier facility and regional hub within the Middle East,” said Nick Tanzi, GPX Global Systems President and CEO.

It is worth mentioning that GPX builds and operates private, carrier neutral Internet Exchanges (IX’s) and Internet Data Centers (IDC’s) in emerging markets. The company offers TIER4 world class, carrier neutral colocation infrastructure and environment to clients seeking to broaden their exposure and growth into new emerging global markets. GPX has been operating in Egypt for the last three years under the license of the National Telecommunication Regulatory Authority (NTRA).

“Raya has expanded its investments into the commercial real estate development market through Raya Smart Buildings. The company’s strategy is to develop smart office/commercial buildings complexes, leveraging on Raya’s comprehensive and well grounded expertise in IT systems and infrastructure industry,” said Mohamed Fares, CEO Raya Smart Buildings.

Contact Company: GPX Global Systems Inc.
Contact Person: Hesham Fattah
Contact Email:[email protected]

gpx-logo

City: Dublin, Ireland

GPX Global Systems Inc., Egypt’s leading provider of carrier neutral data centers today announced that it had been approved to become an associate member of Euro-IX (European Internet Exchange Association).

GPX Global Systems Inc, through this participation and the cooperation with Euro-IX continues to make conscious efforts to improve technological capabilities and quality of services provided by its Middle East Internet Exchange (MEIX) facility in Cairo, Egypt.

About Euro-IX (www.euro-ix.net)

Euro-IX (European Internet Exchange Association) was formed in May 2001 with the intention to further develop, strengthen and improve the Internet Exchange Point (IXP) community. A number of Internet Exchange Points recognized a need to combine their resources so as to co-ordinate technical standards across the continent, develop common procedures, and share and publish statistics and other information. Publishing of this information would in turn give all interested parties a better insight into the world of IXPs.

About GPX Global Systems Inc.

Incorporated in August 2002, GPX builds and operates private, carrier neutral Internet Exchanges (IX’s) and Internet Data Centers (IDC’s) in emerging, commercial markets along the undersea cable systems of FLAG, SEA-ME-WE3, SEA-ME-WE4, EIG, FALCON and others.

GPX IXs & IDCs provide telecommunications companies (Telcos), Internet Service Providers (ISPs), e-businesses, and enterprise customers with a highly reliable, secure, neutral data center environment where they can collocate their mission critical communications and application platforms. In addition, the GPX IXs & IDCs provide a single physical location where customers can access a host of services from multiple providers.

GPX Media Contact: Tom Byrnes, SVP Sales & Marketing, [email protected]

Euro-IX Media Contact: Serge Radovcic, Secretary General, [email protected]

gpx-logo

City: Cairo, Egypt

GPX Global Systems, Inc., a provider of state-of-the-art, neutral Internet eXchange (IX) facilities in emerging Internet markets, announced that all four Egyptian Class A ISPs have joined the GPX Middle East Internet Exchange (MEIX), in Cairo Egypt. An Egyptian Class A license grants the right to own an Internet backbone and connect directly to international service providers. EgyNet, LINKdotNet, Nile On Line, and TE Data own and run the Internet backbones in Egypt.

By joining the GPX MEIX, these ISPs have access to a broad range of customers wishing to expand their marketplace—content providers, DNS service providers, on-line brokerage companies, and others.

Because the MEIX provides a neutral data center environment, MEIX customers benefit by having a choice of services between multiple providers.

“We are very pleased to have attracted all of the Class A ISPs to our MEIX Internet exchange,” states Tom Byrnes, SVP Sales and Marketing of GPX Global Systems. “Customers and ISPs are selecting the MEIX because it provides world class infrastructure and very reliable and secure colocation. The center offers a variety of local access and interconnection options and is the only exchange in Egypt to provide network diversity via a private, dedicated fiber optic ring connected to two major Telecom Egypt central offices.”

EgyNet
The Egyptian Networks Company built and operated the first privately owned Public Data Network (PDN) in Egypt. Today it is the largest network offering Frame Relay and ATM services.

The company provides world-class telecommunications solutions through a reliable, accessible, and cost-effective network that supports data and multi-media flow, and that is running on a fast and reliable Internet Gateway.

www.egynet.com.eg

LINKdotNET
LINKdotNET, a subsidiary of Orascom Telecom Holding, is one of the largest Internet Service and Solution Providers in the Middle East, North Africa, and Pakistan. It provides, maintains, develops and promotes Internet solutions and services that span Internet connectivity, hosting, online advertising, network solutions, and web development.

www.link.net

Nile On Line
As one of the leading voice and Internet services providers in Egypt, Nile On Line, provides its services through their numerous points of presence that spans all governorates, cities, towns and districts in Egypt via a secured VOIP/VPN. The services offered include both bandwidth and Internet. Applications include secured networks, electronic and voice mail, and hosting web sites and portals. Nile On Line currently hosts 70% of the Egyptian free Internet market.

www.nile-online.com

TE Data
Established by Telecom Egypt to function as its data communications arm, TE Data is one of the largest ISPs in Egypt. With operations in Egypt and Jordan, the company offers narrowband and broadband Internet access, managed dedicated Internet access, IP VPN connectivity, and global connectivity services. The company has attained more than half of the Egyptian broadband market with its ADSL offering.

www.tedata.net

GPX Global Systems, Inc.
Incorporated in August 2002, GPX develops and operates state-of-the-art, neutral Internet eXchange (IX) facilities in emerging, but fast growing commercial Internet markets along the undersea cable systems of FLAG, SEA-ME-WE3, and SEA-ME-WE4 as well as other regional cable systems.

GPX IXs provide telecommunications companies (Telcos), Internet Service Providers (ISPs), e-businesses, and enterprise customers with a highly reliable, secure, neutral data center environment where they can collocate their mission critical communications and application platforms. In addition, the GPX IXs provide a single physical location where customers can access a host of services from multiple providers.

Contact Company: GPX Global Systems, Inc.
Contact Person: Tom Byrnes, SVP Sales & Marketing
Contact Email: [email protected]

ICT Question: Please introduce yourself and provide us with your profile.

I am the Chairman of GPX Global Systems, Inc. a private, for profit, neutral Internet peering business focused on the MENA and South Asian Regions. Prior to GPX Global Systems, I was President and CEO of Metromedia Fiber Networks. Before joining Metromedia in 1998, I held the position of VP for Sales and Marketing of Fujitsu America’s Fiber Optics Products Division that was responsible for selling into the US carrier market. Prior to Fujitsu, I had a 17 year career with Digital Equipment Corporation starting in network engineering and rising to become the General Manager of the Network Services Group, a 600 person systems integration business unit.

While at Metromedia, I was responsible for selling the metro dark fiber assets developed by the company. I was also responsible for evolving the company’s strategy to include new classes of services such as WaveChannel, Gigabit Ethernet, IP, data center hosting and colocation, and PAIX Peering services to sell to enterprise and carrier customers. I also helped the company develop its Managed Hosting platform to extend the value of the company’s fiber assets.

ICT Question: What was the incentive for you to enter into the Data Center Internet Exchange field?

We have previous experience in building and running Internet exchange businesses in many markets throughout the world. The role of an Internet exchange is to provide the core infrastructure that supports the efficient growth of the Internet in any market. It forms the essential foundation that allows ISPs, carriers, and content providers to efficiently grow their businesses and offer more advanced services.

During our business planning process we analyzed many markets along the FLAG and Sea-Me-We3/4 undersea cable systems and determined that there was an excellent opportunity to establish Internet eXchanges in the developing MENA and South Asian regions. Egypt was selected as our hub site for the MENA region as they had the growth and stability factors that we were looking for, and we felt that our GPX carrier neutral model, with state-of-the-art infrastructure, a 99.999% SLA, and multi-level security, would be discriminators for our success.

ICT Question: Would you please tell us what are GPX Egypt services and products and its main target customers?

First it is important to explain the role of our Internet eXchanges. We provide a highly secure and reliable carrier neutral data center environment where ISPs, content providers, e-businesses, commercial customers, and telecommunications service providers can collocate their servers and networking equipment. By carrier neutral we mean that any customer in our Internet eXchange has access to multiple service providers and can purchase bandwidth and services that best suit their business requirements.

GPX does not sell bandwidth or managed services. We provide a secure and reliable data center environment for our customers to collocate and buy and sell services to each other.

ICT Question: Why did you choose Egypt as a starting point for the set up of the first of many to come data centers in the MENA and Asia regions?

We have a plan to enter several markets along the FLAG and Sea-Me-We 3 / 4 cable systems. We believe there are several important market factors that allow an Internet exchange to be successful.

First the country or market has to be a major aggregation point for bandwidth; clearly Egypt fills that role with major undersea cable systems landing points in Alexandria, Port Said, and Suez. These major cable systems connect the MENA region with Asia and Europe.

Second, the government has to have progressive policies that support the growth of the Internet and technology industries. This is clearly a priority for the Egyptian Ministry of Communication and Information Technology and National Telecommunication Regulatory Authority. They have implemented many successful efforts such as the Free Internet initiative, market deregulation, and technology cooperation that will not only fuel the continued growth of the Internet and IT industries, but also position Egypt as an Internet and technology leader for the MENA region.

The third factor is that the country or market needs to be a business, cultural, and political hub for their region. Clearly Egypt fits that profile with its many successful industries, the abundance of content including music and film that originate in Egypt and are consumed across the region, and its political pedigree and stature across the region. Because of these factors, we believe Egypt is an excellent choice for GPX’s business development.

We are currently in the process of establishing a GPX Internet eXchange in India for the same reasons outlined above.

ICT Question: Do you expect GPX Egypt to excel in the Egyptian market and in how long?

Yes we absolutely do, Egypt is a fast growing Internet market and the economy is stable and growing. We not only plan to service the local market, but we plan to attract offshore content providers, e-businesses, and multi-national companies to Egypt. Our experience has shown that it typically takes 24-36 months to get the critical mass of ISPs, content providers, commercial customers, and telecommunications companies into a new Internet exchange. As long as the Internet market and economy continue to grow, it will not be a question of if we will be successful, but only of when.

ICT Question: Where do you think Egypt stands technologically in comparison to other fast developing countries in the world now-a-days?

In many ways technology growth is a function of the markets growth, and once again we believe that the Egyptian Ministry of Communication and Information Technology and National Telecommunication Regulatory Authority have done an excellent job in providing the foundation for growth.

If we look at the wireless market, the technology and services are as advanced as any in the world. If we look at the ISPs, they have deployed some of the most highly developed backbone technology available, including MPLS. The plans to create Internet based applications for e-government, and e-signature are very progressive and innovative for a developing market.

In our view many of the technologies, applications, and services being developed and implemented by industry and the Government, are positioning Egypt as one of the technology leaders amongst the developing markets.

ICT Question: What model does GPX depend on? And Why?

GPX Egypt provides a totally neutral platform for ISPs, Telcos, content providers, and/or commercial business to host their servers and create a Point of Presence at a highly secure, developed, and managed data center infrastructure. The neutral platform means that GPX customers are not limited to one bandwidth or service provider, but have access to multiple service providers and can purchase bandwidth and services that best suit their business requirements.

ICT Question: How about 2007 business targets??

2007 will be our first year of full operations; we will be launching our GPX Egypt Internet eXchange in the second quarter of 2007. Our goals are to aggressively market, our Internet eXchange, Egypt, and the MENA region globally. We are very excited about offering our services to the local and international markets.

ICT Question: How is GPX Egypt taking part in ICT07 this year?

GPX participation in ICT07 is considered a soft launching for our presence in the Egyptian and MENA region markets.

We are planning to officially launch the data center during the second quarter of 2007. We feel that it is important to have an early presence in a highly regarded regional IT event such as the ICT 2007.

In addition, we are taking this opportunity to announce the presence of an F-Root server in our data center. The server will mirror the F-root, one of the 13 ‘Root Name Servers’ located around the world which controls and organizes accessibility to the Internet. . Its presence in Egypt, through our facility, is considered as one of the fundamental elements of stability of the local ISPs backbone infrastructure.

Furthermore, this event will give us the chance to get better acquainted with international, regional, and local business entities, and establish a network of contacts that will be used to pave our way into the market.