Thuraya poised for imminent commercial launch in Asia-Pacific

Satellite post-launch activities have been underway since the spectacular orbital injection by Sea Launch on 15 January 2008. The smooth in-orbit operations and testing of the satellite functionalities to date point to a great possibility to launch Thuraya services in East Asian markets by the mid of next month.

'It's very thrilling to see the readiness spirit and the impressive communication quality at this very early stage,' said Thuraya's CEO Mr. Yousuf Al Sayed last week upon making the first phone call over Thuraya-3 satellite at the Company's gateway in Sharjah. Earlier, the gateway successfully acquired a communication signal from Thuraya-3 on 24th January.

Over the past four weeks, the Company along with its technology partner Boeing Satellite Systems International, completed major post-launch milestones including Orbital Raising to place the spacecraft in its designated slot of 98.5 degree East Longitude, the deployment of the satellite bus comprising solar arrays, reflectors and radiators, and the intialisation of the satellite payload which were all successfully achieved by 2nd February 2008. That made Thuraya proceed to the final milestone before commercial operation which is the In-Orbit Testing (IOT) that is expected to continue until the end of this month.

The IOT will be followed by a 10-day testing of communications across the coverage area, which is a further quality-check measure ensuring commercial readiness. During this phase, calls will be made and tested from various countries, and test teams will be stationed throughout the new coverage area of Asia-Pacific.

Underscoring this accomplishment, Thuraya's CEO stressed that the expansion of Thuraya's space system is part of the Company's unrelenting dynamism to expand, innovate and maintain the satellite handhelds market leadership.

'The service launch in Asia-Pacific will be a significant growth landmark, opening enormous commercial horizons for business, and bringing Thuraya to a whole new world of potential subscribers, distribution channels, application partners and technology-savvy markets,'

he said.

Parallel to technical readiness which has been undergoing since early 2007, the commercial infrastructure has also been put in place in time, with highly promising distribution and marketing partnerships established with strong networks in such key markets as China, Australia, Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Mongolia and Macau.

Thuraya is currently the most widely used and most dynamic operator for satellite handhelds worldwide. Once operational next month, the new satellite will double the target market and potentially the subscriber base under Thuraya's footprint, by covering two thirds of the globe's population.