Thuraya satellite. (Boeing image)
DUBAI, UAE, May 10, 2007 - Satnews Daily - Dubai-based Thuraya Satellite Telecommunications Company is sticking with Sea Launch to loft its $250 million Thuraya-3 satellite, its third geostationary comsat, despite a Sea Launch failure last January that destroyed SES New Skies’ NSS-8 satellite.
Thuraya-3 is the third planned payload for Sea Launch this year and there was speculation that Thuraya might opt for another launch provider after the accident, as did a few other firms. Thuraya CEO Yousuf Abdullah Al Sayed, however, said he is confident Sea Launch would be able to orbit Thuraya-3 safely.
"Usually after a failure like what happened in January, the next launch is the safest because extra attention is placed on every detail," Al Sayed was quoted as having told Arab media.
Both Thuraya-1 and Thuraya-2 were successfully orbited by Sea Launch. Launched in 2000, Thuraya-1 is the Middle East's first mobile telecommunications satellite.
Thuraya-2, launched in 2003, enabled Thuraya to expand its satellite capacity into new markets, and diversify into new satellite based applications.
The Sea Launch mishap delayed the launch of Thuraya-3 to October from April, a setback that is projected to cut Thuraya revenues by about four percent this year. Thuraya currently services 230,000 subscribers in 110 countries. It expects Thuraya-3, which will service Asia and Australia, to add 30,000 new subscribers in its first year of operation.
Thuraya has agreements to offer service in China and South Korea, and expects to sign a partnership agreement with an Australian service provider by yearend. Thuraya is confident it will begin operating in India this year after a six-year campaign. India has been a top priority for Thuraya, and now that goal is finally within reach, said Al Sayed.
Al Sayed noted that India represented a promising market for rural telephony. He said Thuraya would help local Indian telecom operators fulfill their universal service obligations under their license agreements by setting up satellite phones within rural villages for community use.
Thuraya posted a net profit in 2005 of $80 million (compared to $26 million in 2004) on revenues of $323 million. Thuraya provides satellite-based voice communications via handheld phones or fixed terminals; short message service; data & fax service; 144 Kbps high-speed data transfer via a notebook-sized terminal and a number of value-added services.
