In its bid to establish extensive global network reach and reinforce its position as the leading telecommunications operator in the Middle East, Saudi Telecom has announced the launch of new Points of Presence (PoPs) in eight countries including India.

This was achieved through associations with Saudi Telecom's affiliates in Bahrain (VIVA) and India (Aircel), and partnerships with tier-1 operators and tele-houses in the other countries.

The expansion of Saudi Telecom's network to the neighbouring countries and key global locations would enable the company's domestic and regional customers to enjoy global-reach, in addition to further improving the overall quality of internet, data and voice services.

The services would be extend to Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait, the UAE, Jordan, India, UK and Singapore.

Through the internet-enabled PoPs, Saudi Telecom will offer international wholesale IP transit service via its extensive connectivity with internet access points, and various peering arrangements with major global carriers and backbone providers.

The IP Transit Service provides connectivity to global Internet through a highly resilient, diversified and scalable network backbone.

The service also provides the shortest path within the region through Saudi Telecom's extensive coverage where the IP routing is optimised so that regional traffic stays within the region, according to a report on Saudi Telecom website.

Through its partnerships with major global tier-1 carriers, Saudi Telecom's global wholesale MPLS service, will permit regional operators to offer their multi-national enterprise customers with comprehensive regional and global IP-VPN solutions that are highly secure and reliable in addition to the Managed Router service (MRS) and other Value added services (VAS).