This partnership dramatically reduces the installation time to connect Bahrain with trading venues across Europe and Asia-Pacific. Today's news follows IPC's recent announcement of the expansion of its Enterprise Voice Service (EVS) in Hong Kong and Singapore and completion of multiple network capacity upgrades worldwide.

Underscoring IPC's commitment to servicing the needs of its global customer-base, IPC partnered with 2Connect Bahrain, a leading telecommunications service provider that offers an innovative portfolio of voice and data services within Bahrain, the Middle East region and Europe. The partnership enables IPC to take advantage of the network and expertise of 2Connect to deliver its services effectively and reliably to financial services firms based in Bahrain and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). This investment in the network infrastructure technology will provide IPC's customers the most efficient connection highway to reach clients and execution venues across this region.

The new partnership will provide IPC's customers in the region access to IPC's global network platform, ensuring fast, secure, reliable access to a community of more than 3,600 on-net financial sites worldwide. Firms in the region can leverage IPC's on-net community to connect more rapidly to trading partners in the Middle East across a resilient and diverse network dedicated to traders. The presence in Bahrain and the relationship with 2Connect increases IPC's global network presence and provides direct connectivity to an increasingly important and growing market-moving financial center.

"With a focus on the needs of our customer-base, IPC continues to invest in its network to provide access to the global financial services community, resilient connectivity and scalable capacity our customers depend on," said Mathew Whitmore, Program Manager for IPC Network Services Operations. "The working partnership between IPC and 2Connect Bahrain is another important step in supporting financial service firms to compete effectively in the modern market place."

"2Connect understands the Middle East data communication market and the importance of network resiliency and quality of service for IPC and their clients," said Rick Hillson, vice president, Customer Operations, 2Connect. "We're committed to the partnership with IPC and to support their expansion into Bahrain and the GCC region."

The connectivity in Bahrain will form part of a Middle Eastern hub connecting Europe and Asia with an ultra-resilient, secure global financial network supported by IPC's unmatched 24/7/365 proactive service management to facilitate high performance trading on a global scale.