The Middle East is becoming one of the world’s most dynamic digital hubs, and Zayo Group, the European bandwidth infrastructure giant, is staking its claim.  

With eight newly announced points of presence across the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait, the company is bringing its European-grade infrastructure and customer-centric approach to the region. 

“The Middle East is a very attractive market. There is massive financial activity and significant investment in central facilities,” Zayo Europe CEO, Colman Deegan, explains. 

“We’ve seen growing demand from our customers for connectivity into the region, particularly around financial centres. We had already been selling services there, but strategically, we decided now was the right time to formalise our presence.” 

Targeting high-demand connectivity hubs

According to Deegan, the company’s first PoPs will target high-demand areas where its enterprise and financial clients require immediate connectivity. 

“We focused on the top demand locations in the region. Primarily, that’s Saudi Arabia, where we have two locations, along with two in the UAE and connectivity into the Saudi stock exchange.” 

“The Middle East works very differently from Europe. It’s largely point-to-point, rather than fully interconnected, so we’ve positioned ourselves where our customers specifically need connectivity. That has been the primary driver.” 

A partner-enabled expansion model

 Unlike in Zayo’s core European markets, the Middle East expansion relies heavily on a partner-enabled, virtual model.  

“We think about geographic expansion as a spectrum. At one end, you have a virtual presence, which mirrors our product range like IP and traffic services. That’s the approach we’re taking in the Middle East,” he explains. 

“In our core markets, such as Germany and the UK, we build physical infrastructure. We invest where we believe we have a strong right to win. If demand in the Middle East reaches the point where physical infrastructure makes sense financially and strategically, we will absolutely do that.” 

“This model allows us to dip our toe in the water, establish ourselves, and then scale over time as demand grows,” he continues. 

For Zayo Europe, which separated from Zayo US in 2024, establishing brand recognition and operational footholds is a key goal for the company in the first year. 

“By the end of 2026, we would like customers to see Zayo as a credible European operator for routes such as Frankfurt to Abu Dhabi or Paris to Abu Dhabi. Being included in RFPs for those routes would be a strong sign of success,” Deegan adds. 

How the Middle East fits into Zayo’s wider strategy

At Capacity Europe 2025, Zayo’s recently appointed chief business development and strategy officer, Davin Rice revealed Germany as one of the locations the company is focusing. 

This comes as Zayo Europe launched a new 400G- enabled wave route connecting London and Frankfurt via Brussels. 

“Germany is a big focus, particularly Frankfurt. We’re making investments in Frankfurt, including metro infrastructure- pulling cables and ducts at that level of infrastructure. This is new for us and really interesting for next year,” Rice claimed. 

However, according to Deegan, the Middle East model stands in contrast to Zayo’s investment-heavy strategy in established European markets 

“The Middle East expansion is asset-light and based on a variable cost model. It’s very different from Germany, where we are making significant investments in physical infrastructure,” he continues. 

“It’s all part of the same spectrum: virtual entry in the Middle East, selective investment in Eastern Europe, and full infrastructure built in core markets like Germany.” 

Navigating regional challenges

Operating in multiple countries simultaneously is complex, requiring careful planning and local partnerships, Deegan notes. 

“The biggest challenge was finding the right operating model. When you’re entering new markets, there’s always some trial and error.” 

“We needed the right partner, the right operating model and a broad range of solutions. Security, resiliency and delivering high-capacity services were also key challenges,” he states. 

A customer-led growth strategy

Despite these hurdles, Deegan is confident in the region’s potential. 

“We are fundamentally customer-led. Many of our large financial and enterprise customers asked us to support connectivity into the Middle East.” 

“Going into a market simply to resell capacity doesn’t give you a right to win. Our approach is that the customer brings us into the region, and then we land and expand from there.” 

The move also aligns with broader global trends as The Middle East is emerging as a hub for AI and cloud infrastructure, driving a surge in data traffic 

“The Middle East is becoming a major hub for AI and large-scale data centres. Those facilities generate enormous volumes of traffic, and that traffic needs to move globally,” he notes. 

“We’re already seeing new routes emerge between the Middle East and cities like Frankfurt, Paris, Amsterdam, and London. If you want to serve global customers, you need to be present in that ecosystem. 

“Strong local partnerships are critical. In my experience, building trust locally and sharing both the risk and the reward is essential for long-term success.” 

Additionally, the company’s expansion is part of a wider growth narrative. 

Deegan adds: “Over the past year, we’ve signed around 100 new customers, ranging from small bandwidth users to very large hyperscale and AI-driven deployments.” 

“There’s strong momentum in the business. We’re expanding in the Middle East, continuing to invest in Germany, and growing across Central and Eastern Europe. We’re entering 2026 with a lot of confidence.” 

A market too big to ignore

According to Deegan, The Middle East is becoming a major hub for AI and large-scale data centres. 

“Those facilities generate enormous volumes of traffic, and that traffic needs to move globally,” he states. 

“We’re already seeing new routes emerge between the Middle East and cities like Frankfurt, Paris, Amsterdam, and London. If you want to serve global customers, you need to be present in that ecosystem.” 

“Strong local partnerships are critical. In my experience, building trust locally and sharing both the risk and the reward is essential for long-term success,” Deegan concludes. 

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