UAE based satellite operator Yahsat announced the successful trial of a 50Mbps in-flight connection that will change the way passengers experience air travel. The result of a unique partnership between Yahsat, du, Etihad Airways Engineering, Hughes Network Systems and Carlisle Interconnect, the high-speed broadband offering will be available for airlines to offer its passengers within the next year.
Thaicom Public Company Limited, one of Asia's leading satellite operators and provider of integrated satellite communications services, announced an agreement with iSAT Africa Ltd FZC. (iSAT), a leading African telecommunications provider and a subsidiary of Wananchi Group Holdings, to provide iSAT's key customer in East Africa with fully managed satellite telecommunications services including satellite backup of its fiber network.
Project Loon, a network of balloons traveling on the edge of space, designed to extend Internet connectivity to people in rural and remote areas, developed by Alphabet subsidiary 'X' (formerly Google X), has been working with satellite company SES to restore 4G/LTE connectivity to disaster-stricken Puerto Rico.
Luxembourg-based satellite company Intelsat recently announced a managed services solution that will provide 2G services in remote locations of Africa. The solution leverages contributions of services provider BCom and technology provider Newtec for core components of the solution.
French satellite company Eutelsat Communications has acquired NOORSAT, one of the leading satellite service providers in the Middle East, from Bahrain's Orbit Holding Group.
ABS and Telcom Satellites TV (TSTV) signed a multi-transponder agreement to deliver a Direct-to-Home (DTH) broadcast service into Nigeria on ABS-3A.
Satellite operator Intelsat and Etisalat have announced plans to expand the distribution of Intelsat EpicNG services in the Middle East. Under a multiyear expansion, Etisalat will upgrade its network to deliver higher performance to customers in the region using the Intelsat 33e high-throughput satellite. Concurrently, Intelsat will leverage Etisalat's teleport in Dubai as an expansion node of the IntelsatOne Flex service.
Thuraya recently worked with service partners, Talia and NBS Maritime, to sponsor and support two climbers - Holly Budge and Dr. Atanas Skatov - in their summit expeditions to Mount Everest. Both Ms. Budge and Dr. Skatov completed their missions successfully and were able to stay connected with wireless data via Thuraya IP+ satellite terminals throughout their steep trek.
Thuraya Telecommunications recently attended USPACOM Pacific Endeavor 2017, hosted by the Global VSAT Forum (GVF) in the United States, where it presented an intensive training workshop on critical satellite communication technologies for first responders and military experts from 22 participating Asia-Pacific countries. The annual invite-only event ran from August 14 to 25 in San Jose, CA and focused on communications interoperability exercises that facilitate emergency cooperation and relief response between nations and humanitarian NGOs during times of disaster.
Thuraya Telecommunications Company, has announced the launch of Thuraya AERO, a satellite communication service that enables in-flight connectivity for internet access, voice calls, text messaging and high-speed data applications on board small to medium sized aircrafts.
