[12-17-07 – Satellite Today] Thuraya Telecommunications Co. (Thuraya) has appointed Fort Info Technology (Fort) as its exclusive distributor for its rural telephony products, the company announced Dec. 17. The move will allow Fort to handle the distribution and sales support of Thuraya’s Public Calling Office (PCO) and satellite payphones in all current and future markets covered by the Thuraya system.
    Fort is already a Thuraya service provider in several markets and has been working with Thuraya for around five years. The new distribution deal will further build the business partnership between Thuraya and Fort. As part of the new deal, Fort Technology purchased the existing stock of rural telephony products from Thuraya and will be responsible for distributing these products in all Thuraya markets. The products purchased include first and second generation PCOs, payphones, transceiver units and Globe Connect, which is a terminal hardware similar to the PCO that is used in rural areas where terrestrial networks have no reach.