Subject: [NEXTEL-1] UAE's Thuraya says deal can ease war-zone reporting

From: Marcel <[email-masked]>
Date: Mon, 31 Mar 2003 20:10:29 -0500

UAE's Thuraya says deal can ease war-zone reporting

Mon March 3, 2003 06:56 AM ET

DUBAI, March 3 (Reuters) - UAE-based satellite telecoms
firm Thuraya, enjoying a subscription surge on the back of
media interest in the Iraq crisis, on Monday launched a
new service which it said will ease news reporting from
remote areas.

A partnership with UK-based M2sat, a provider of
satellite-based broadband services, promises to improve
broadcast quality through faster satellite data
transmission.

"The launch represents the beginning of a new generation
of mobile broadband services that have managed to triple
current data transmission levels," a joint statement said.

Regional economies are bracing for a jolt if Washington
goes ahead with plans to invade Iraq, but Thuraya's
outlook has picked up after a slow start in 2001.

It says subscriptions have boomed in recent months -- to
95,000 from 47,500 at end-June -- raising expectations the company could break
even by the end of 2003. The unlisted firm saw a nine-month delay in commercial
operations after the launch of its first satellite in October 2000.

Thuraya handsets, similar to ordinary mobiles, work on GSM networks but also as
satellite phones in a band across Europe, North Africa, the Middle East and the
Indian subcontinent.

Demand for the phones increased in January and February, said Jamal al-Jarwan,
Thuraya's business development manager.

"It's a year of development. Our expectation is we'll reach 200,000 subscribers by
the end of the year," he said, adding that media are using Thuraya handsets in
Iraq, despite a ban by the Baghdad authorities.

Jarwan said financial details of the M2sat partnership would be made public at a
later date.

Thuraya has said it would break even once it hits 200,000 subscribers. The company is to
launch a
second satellite this year and has begun building a third.

"A main feature of the Thuraya system is the coverage, which blankets some major
international hot spot
areas," said M2sat managing director Hub Urlings.

He said the new service, offering improved Internet and teleconferencing capabilities,
would also find
customers among governments, non-government organisations and global businesses
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=2314818

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