Page 38 - SAMENA Trends - August-September 2025

REGIONAL & MEMBERS UPDATES SAMENA TRENDS

Ooredoo Unveils Salalah Data Center and Cable

Station

Ooredoo has launched the Salalah Data to combine a class 3-compliant data support Ooredoo’s wider network, allowing
Centre and submarine cable landing Centre with a submarine cable landing other Ooredoo branches to use it to land
station, a key project that aims to establish station and supports new cloud, AI and traffic, host cloud services and share digital
Oman as a key digital hub in the region. The edge computing services. The Centre will infrastructure. According to the company,
new data Centre is located in the Dhofar start with space for 125 server racks and the move provides a secure southern
region and has been launched to connect will expand to 500 over time, setting a new gateway for international cables, improves
Asia, Europe and Africa. Meanwhile, this standard for digital infrastructure in Oman, network strength, lowers delays and offers
new facility is the first in southern Oman Ooredoo revealed. The Salalah hub will also faster, more reliable connections. It is also
expected to attract global companies,
cloud providers and hyperscalers to
Oman, boosting the economy and creating
jobs. Ooredoo director of infrastructure,
Saed Al Ghafri, said: “The Salalah data
Centre and landing station is a catalyst
for Oman’s digital future. “It reinforces our
role in driving economic diversification,
attracting global digital investment and
enabling the next wave of cloud and
AI innovation. By creating a southern
gateway for international connectivity, we
are strengthening Oman’s position as a
regional leader in the digital economy and
unlocking long-term value for businesses,
communities and the wider region.”

SES Tests Optical Ground Links

Satellite player SES detailed plans to explore a method of terminals”, providing “top performance in mitigating atmospheric
transmitting data to ground stations without using radio, looking turbulence”. Carmel Ortiz, SVP of MEO programs at SES, added the
into the potential to increase data rates and security. SES stated it ground stations could become a central component in the satellite
plans to test optical ground stations constructed by France-based company’s global network of gateways.
Cailabs, a specialist in laser light technology for sectors including
aerospace and defence, welding and manufacturing, and fiber
networks. The satellite player highlighted lasers offer potential
data rates of up to 10Gb/s, along with strong resistance to jamming
and interception. But it acknowledged the Earth’s atmosphere is a
challenge for light-based transmission, creating turbulence which
can cause beams to vacillate and break up. Cailabs offers a solution
in the form of multi-plane light conversion technology, which SES
explained adapts to ensure the clarity of the laser signal. It plans
to test the optical links at ground stations capable of delivering
two-way transmissions at 10Gb/s. SES noted the optical approach
would be a radical departure from radio-based transmissions
which have dominated satellite communications since the 1960s,
addressing various issues including increasingly busy airwaves.
Cailabs CEO Jean-Francois Morizur said its optical ground station
technology is “already field-proven with a variety of satellites and

38 AUG-SEP 2025