New licenses awarded to Inmarsat

With strong presence in the Egyptian market, Inmarsat has been providing a host of satellite services to support the needs of the enterprise, maritime and aeronautical sectors in Egypt.

Today, with an upgrade to its satellite operator license granted recently by the NTRA (National Telecom Regulatory Authority), Inmarsat can now offer the full suite of its services in Egypt, including the Broadband Global Area Network service (or 'BGAN'), and its upcoming maritime and aeronautical versions, FleetBroadband and SwiftBroadband respectively.

In fact BGAN, an all-in-one solution that offers simultaneous voice and broadband data connectivity through a highly-portable terminal, launched globally in the Middle East first beginning with Egypt, which in itself is a testimony to Inmarsat's commitment to the Egyptian market and customer.

Following Inmarsat's license upgrade, two of its Service Providers, Alkan Telecom and Mobiserve, were also granted a fully operational license enabling them to offer to the Egyptian customers and to those in the neighbouring countries Inmarsat's complete range of services.

Commenting on these license wins, Samer Halawi, Vice President for Inmarsat, Middle East, Africa & Asia Pacific, said 'Egypt has always been a strategic and important market for Inmarsat for the region. We commend the vision and support of the NTRA and their award of these licenses which we firmly believe will greatly benefit the Egyptian customer and the Egyptian economy.'

Among those attending the press conference, which coincides with Inmarsat's annual Middle East and North Africa Partner conference 2007, were Dr. Amr Badawi, Executive President, NTRA as well as representatives of Alkan Telcom and MobiServe. In his address, Ahmed Abdel-Aal, Managing Director, Alkan Telecom commented on the company's wide range of satellite services: 'Using one of the most advanced satellite networks in the world from Inmarsat, Alkan Telecom provides ubiquitous, wireless communication services on land, at sea and in the air. With our land services, customers can create a virtual office instantly and enjoy a wide range of Broadband Internet, Data and Voice services covering anywhere on earth where the telecoms networks are poor or non-existent. These services are widely used by media, oil & gas, construction companies, NGO, to name a few sectors.'

In addition, our services play a vital role in ensuring maritime safety. Alkan Telecom partners with leading international providers to offer unparalleled coverage and flexibility in maritime communications technology. Our services support all types of ocean-going vessels from merchant ships and fishing boats to luxury yachts.'

Speaking about the new license win, Sameh Atalla, Managing Director, MobiServe, said 'MobiServe is proud to announce obtaining Inmarsat's BGAN license from the National Telecom Regulatory Authority of Egypt. This step will allow MobiServe to sell height speed satellite communications to remote and on demand areas / applications in Egypt which would fulfill and create a demand in different sectors (Oil & Gas, News Agencies, Tourism, Industrial, Travelers, and Banking).