e& boosts EMIX backbone to 400G in collaboration with Cisco

Upgrade expands core capacity, improves latency, and lowers per-bit cost to support accelerating regional traffic and AI workloads

United Arab Emirates – 23rd December 2025 — e& UAE’s EMIX network, one of the region’s leading IP transit platforms, has deployed 400G links across its UAE core to meet sustained traffic growth of over 20% annually.

The upgrade enhances capacity, reduces end-to-end latency, and will be extended to EMIX’s international points of presence (PoPs), improving performance and economics for carriers, ISPs, and mobile operators across MENA.

Delivered in collaboration with Cisco, the multi-year programme also introduces AI/ML-driven network automation, enabling intent-based, closed-loop operations that speed up provisioning, reduce human error, and strengthen service reliability as demand scales.

Khalid Al Khaja, Vice President, Business & IP Core at e& UAE, said: “Moving EMIX to 400G is about giving our wholesale and operator customers more headroom, lower latency, and better unit economics as traffic patterns become more AI-driven. We selected Cisco for its leadership across silicon, software, and automation, and we’re aligning our roadmap to bring these benefits to our international PoPs next.”

The Cisco ASR9000 Aggregation Services Routers that handle e&’s core routing are built with modularity and futureproofing in mind, enabling a relatively simple upgrade path through the adoption of 400G-enabled Ethernet line cards.

“As the Middle East accelerates its adoption of AI and digital solutions, robust, scalable, and resilient network infrastructures are more critical than ever,” added Zayan Sadek, Managing Director, Service Providers MEA, Cisco. “EMIX’s transition to 400G is a testament to their commitment to delivering world-class connectivity and performance. At Cisco, we are honored to collaborate with e& UAE, bringing together our expertise in silicon, software, and automation to enable a new era of intelligent, high-capacity networks.”