Bahrain telecoms firm Batelco has partnered with a Middle Eastern Edge data center firm.

The Beyon-owned telco this week announced a strategic partnership agreement with Qareeb Data Centers.

Under the terms of the agreement, Qareeb will manage and operate its first Edge facility through a long-term lease of Batelco’s recently announced new facility at its Data Oasis campus in Manama. The facility will offer 6,000 sqm (64,585 sq ft) of space.

The deal will reportedly enable Qareeb to deliver sovereign, low-latency, and AI-ready colocation services for enterprises, cloud providers, and digital platforms across the GCC.

Hani Askar, chief global business officer of Batelco, said: “This agreement represents an important step forward in translating our data center strategy into operational excellence, enabling us to extend our reach across key market segments. We are pleased to welcome Qareeb Data Centers as a trusted partner in the new facility, which stands as a symbol of Bahrain’s progress in digital transformation.”

The companies first signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for a collaboration in November 2024.

Annemarie Van Zadelhoff, Qareeb Data Centers' chief revenue officer, added: “This facility represents Qareeb Data Centers’ first operational data center and a significant milestone in delivering high-performance, scalable, and sovereign Edge colocation for cloud providers, AI innovators, and enterprise organisations across the Middle East.”

Bahrain-based Qareeb Data Centres aims to provide Edge data center solutions across the Middle East. The company has previously said it is deploying 50MW of capacity across markets in the UAE, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Jordan, and Egypt. Qareeb has previously partnered with Gcore and crypto firm Pantheon Mining, and recently announced an MoU with hollow core fiber firm NPS.