Mideast satellite comms boom drives regional expansion - New partnerships signed at GITEX 2003

In the latest development, Triband Middle East, a Lebanon-based Inmarsat distribution partner, today announced the appointment of five new service providers in the region for Inmarsat Regional BGAN (Broadband Global Area Network) at GITEX 2003.

'There are several factors that have driven this surge of growth. One of these is the requirement for connectivity in Iraq, which has created a short-term requirement for connectivity by government and aid agencies, along with organisations wanting to do business there. There is a also growing long-term awareness that high-speed data connectivity from remote or underserviced areas is not only cost effective, but really easy to do, so we're seeing a lot of interest from organisations that before would have considered satcoms beyond their means,' said Maroun Chammas, Executive Vice President, Triband Middle East. 'We are expanding our channel in order to address this market need.' The newly appointed resellers are SpaceNet and TRINEC, WAM Trading in Oman, STAR Group in India and Koudmani Group in Syria and Jordan.

Chammas continued: 'We have partnered with the best telecommunication service providers in the region to provide Inmarsat services to a greater range of customers, particularly to serve the Iraqi market.' SpaceNet is focused on offering the service in Iraq. It has set up offices there with over 15 employees and a firm customer base of international organisations, consular bodies and businesses. According to a SpaceNet spokesperson, the lack of a terrestrial telecommunication infrastructure in Iraq has called for the need for satellite-based connectivity, particularly data communication, where Inmarsat is the only provider of a very compact, cost-effective, high-speed mobile solution. STAR Group is also addressing the Iraqi market, as well as offering services to Afghanistan. Hussein Syed, Director of Marketing of STAR Group, commented, 'The reason why we signed with Triband for Inmarsat's Regional BGAN is that we wanted to focus on niche areas of the broadband market not catered by the terrestrial network.'

TRINEC, a Lebanon-based solution provider, will be serving the Jordanian markets. 'Partnering with TRIBAND Middle East falls perfectly under TRINEC's strategy to team up with IT leaders to deliver end to end solutions anywhere, anytime, to any device over any link. Regional BGAN satisfies all the requirements to ensure a fast, secure and reliable Internet access with an extended area coverage. The telecom industry in the Levant is booming, and the large amount of rural areas in these regions creates a need for mobile satcom solutions. In addition, there are a lot of traveling businessmen and aid organisations crossing over the Jordanian-Iraqi border on a regular basis, and they need reliable means of mobile communication,' said Joe Khayyat, Managing Director, TRINEC.

WAM Trading and Koudmani Group both target the oil and gas sectors and the construction industry in the region, which are major markets for Regional BGAN. 'Companies within these segments are very often located in remote desert sites, so it is difficult to maintain communications between the engineers on site and the head offices. Until now, it was also imperative to have people present continually to monitor and control machinery. This can now be done remotely, using Regional BGAN,' explained Uttam Swaroop, Project Coordinator, WAM Trading.

The expansion of the Regional BGAN distribution channel is important as Inmarsat reaches more vertical markets in the Middle East. Triband ME has been actively developing its network of distributors in the Middle East and Africa over the years.

Samer Halawi, Inmarsat's Regional Director, concludes: 'Triband has the right market approach, an extended market reach, and a thorough understanding of the region's connectivity requirements. We signed our partnership agreement earlier this year, shortly after Regional BGAN was launched, and they have since performed extremely well in developing the market for satellite connectivity. They continue to be a valuable member of the Inmarsat channel in the Middle East, and are also exploring other regions, notably the African continent. The use of Regional BGAN is growing rapidly, and we haven't even tapped the full market potential.'