RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — stc Group, the leading digital enabler, inaugurated one of its largest and most significant projects, Center3 Company, the digital regional center for the Middle East and North Africa. The new company will be the owner of the digital infrastructure assets owned by stc Group, including data centers, submarine cables, international points of presence, and internet exchange points. The inauguration took place in the presence of H.R.H Prince Mohammad bin Khalid Al Abdullah Al-Faisal, Chairman of the Board of Directors of stc Group, His Excellency the Minister of Communications and Information Technology, Eng. Abdullah Alswaha, and a number of excellencies and senior executives of stc Group.
Center3 will be a group of carrier-neutral data centers and a provider of international communication for the telecommunications sector through a submarine fiber-optic network. It aims to develop digital businesses and enhance investment opportunities in international communication services and data centers by providing the latest communication, hosting technologies and raising the capacity of data centers to meet the needs of the Asian, European, and African markets, and the rest of the world.
“The stc Group launched Center3 to enhance the digital system, to contribute to enhancing the KSA’s position as a regional digital center, and it’s in line with our strategy to expand the scope and markets to achieve digital empowerment,” said Eng. Olayan Alwetaid, stc Group CEO.
“At Center3, we aim to build an integrated ecosystem of cables and data centers to attract Hyper-scalers, big data, local and international service providers,” said Fahad Alhajeri, Center3 CEO.
“Center3 will provide international communication, Internet exchange, and data center services. We will work to achieve the company’s vision of making KSA the main digital hub connecting the three continents Asia, Europe, and Africa, and to lead the largest share of Internet exchange and data traffic in the region,” added Alhajeri.
With the launch of Center3, stc Group will have completed the digital system pursuit by launching several companies specialized in cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, cloud computing, Internet of Things and digital infrastructure. This will contribute to transforming the digital industry into a leading industrial power and a global logistics center, which puts KSA at the forefront of global countries in transforming business environments.
Previously at LEAP, the International Conference, stc Group announced the launch of an initiative to establish a main digital center for MENA region with an investment of $1 billion, with the aim of enabling growth in KSA’s economy and GDP. This comes in cooperation with regional and international partners. Furthermore, the group had recently inaugurated the submarine cable “Saudi Vision Cable,” a high-speed submarine cable in the Red Sea, through its first landing station in Jeddah, which extends for a distance of 1,160,000 meters, and provides high-speed access across the KSA’s borders through four landing stations: Jeddah, Yanbu, Dhaba, and Haql.
