Etihad Etisalat (Mobily) in cooperation with the Saudi National Fiber Network (SNFN) and integrated telecommunications company, ITC have signed a contract with Cisco Middle East company in Saudi Arabia to provide the managed network services through smart management solutions specially designed to manage fiber optic network.

The contract is valid for a period of three years and is extendable for two more years. This includes an agreement with Cisco to provide the most advanced managed services solution, OBX on the network that reduces operational expenditure by at least 25 percent from the current levels. This is in line with the company's strategic objectives to invest intelligently in investing in assets and increase its operational efficiency.

Maziad Nasser Al-Harbi, chief technology officer at Mobily, said: “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 and maintenance, Mobily, said: “MNS excellence is an elusive goal for all operators and service providers, but Mobily and Bayanat Al Oula will continue our commitment toward 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.”

The national fiber network Arabia SNFN is one of the largest fiber optic networks in the world.

The network has been expanded to connect neighboring countries such as Yemen, the UAE, Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait and Jordan.