Saudi Offers SMW-4

HAMILTON, Bermuda -- Saudi Telecom Company (STC) and Teleglobe International Holdings Ltd (NASDAQ:TLGB - News) today announced that carriers and ISPs connected to the Middle East IP Exchange (ME-IEX) in Saudi Arabia will soon benefit from the addition of international capacity via the reliable, high quality international connectivity from the new SEA-ME-WE-4 (SMW-4) consortium network, a submarine cable linking 14 countries from Europe to Asia. The ME-IEX currently links to N. America, Europe and Asia via the SMW-3 and FLAG systems and will continue to supplement this existing capacity for network redundancy and optimum reach.

STC and Teleglobe established the ME-IEX at the beginning of 2005 to serve Middle Eastern ISPs and carriers. The ME-IEX currently carries traffic for several customers from Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait and Yemen and supports peering arrangements between ISPs. The exchange was the first true IP exchange node in the region to provide diversified international connectivity.

The exchange combines STC's established regional and international infrastructure with the global reach of Teleglobe's Tier 1 IP network and is backed by the support services of both companies. This enables lower total costs, streamlined operations and unparalleled connectivity. The ME-IEX ensures high availability for customers' services via a number of fail-safe and redundant mechanisms that guarantee stable, reliable connectivity.

The SMW-4 submarine cable network is to be formally inaugurated on December 13th by a consortium of 13 telecommunications companies, including STC. The network spans nearly 20,000 km, approximately half of the circumference of the globe, linking 14 countries from Singapore to France via Malaysia, Thailand, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Tunisia, Algeria and Italy, and with 16 landing points, including Jeddah, Saudi Arabia as full landing where one of the ME-IEX major PoPs is located.

"New international connectivity via SMW-4 will allow ME-IEX customers to experience an even higher quality of service for their fast-growing international transit needs," said Mr. Saad Demyati The Vice President of International Telecom at Saudi Telecom Company. "Access to SMW-4 should assure ME-IEX customers that the ME-IEX will continue to scale with their requirements."

Saudi Telecom Co. (STC)