Riedel Networks, Kalaam collaborate to connect motorsports

Riedel Networks has entered into a partnership with Kalaam Carrier Solutions (KCS) as part of its commitment to deliver high capability for motorsport events across Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE.

The companies are confident their collaboration will support one of the most active and data-driven sports in the world, delivering what they call “ultra-reliable and robust” connectivity throughout 2023 and beyond.

Headquartered in Bahrain, and with offices in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the UAE, Jordan and the UK, Kalaam Telecom Group (Kalaam) is a digital services provider serving small and medium-sized enterprises, telecoms carriers and hyperscalers. It claims to have pioneered ISP offerings, connectivity and digital transformation in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, with an accumulated legacy of more than 30 years.

Kalaam’s fully owned terrestrial cable system, Kalaam Network Optical Transit (Knot) – spanning Kuwait, Bahrain, KSA, the UAE and Qatar – is now coupled with consortium ownership in undersea cable Europe-India Gateway, a 15,000 km international fibre-optic submarine cable system serving carriers and enterprises covering 12 countries from India and the Middle East to Europe.

Founded in 2001, Riedel Networks is an international network provider focused on customised networks, specialising in midmarket multinationals and the media and events sector. The company currently runs a Cisco homogenous network with 40-plus points of presence worldwide. It serves more than 250 multinational customers across all vertical industries in more than 75 countries.

The partnership will see Riedel Networks and KCS provide multi-service connectivity from racetracks in the Middle East to partners in Europe and Asia. Riedel uses KCS as a point of presence (POP) in the region, allowing the company to connect to its global POPs in Europe and Asia with what it calls ultra-low latency service-level assurances.

The offering will primarily use the Knot cable system, a 1,400 km terrestrial network that spans Kuwait, Bahrain, KSA, UAE and Qatar. This network is seen as being able to allow racing teams to ”seamlessly” share data from the cars and drivers while supporting social media platforms and broadcasters.

Riedel Networks and KCS signed their partnership agreement in December 2022, and the POP went operational just a few weeks later, in time for the start of the motorsports season. Riedel Networks technology modernised the network nodes, a move that is said to have optimised round-trip delays between Europe and race tracks in the MENA region by more than 15%.

“We collaborated with Riedel to go beyond what was previously available to motorsport teams and deliver a solution that is robust, reliable, and future-ready to meet growing demands,” said Veer Passi, group CEO at Kalaam Telecom. “Our people, precision and performance are a great fit for Riedel, and demonstrate the value of our global network to develop unique, customised connectivity solutions that meet customer needs in the MENA region.”

“Riedel Networks prides itself on delivering the highest quality of services to our clients,” added Michael Martens, CEO of Riedel Networks. “Thanks to Kalaam Carrier Solutions’ innovative thinking, robust connectivity and consistent experience across multiple markets in the Middle East, Riedel now benefits from a secure network with control over its design so that it can deliver the services our global customers have come to expect since we started serving the motorsports industry in 2006.”