[Satellite News – 07-25-08] Thuraya, believes its latest small broadband terminal with advanced video streaming capability will enable the company to make more of an impact in the mobile data market, the company’s CEO said.
    The mobile satellite services company unveiled its A-5-sized broadband terminal, developed by Hughes Network Systems, July 16 and hopes it will be the catalyst for the new ThurayaIP service. The terminal provides maximum reception speed of 444 kilobits per second (Kbps) and a maximum transmission speed of 202 Kbps.
    “We now want to make a mark in the growing broadband data market as well,” Yousuf Al Sayed told Satellite News. “… The new ThurayaIP terminal perfectly complements our product portfolio to address the increasing need for broadband-based services and solutions. Moreover, we can offer our customers a one-stop shop solution. This is especially interesting for our corporate customers.”
    Thuraya is targeting market segments such as oil and gas companies, non-governmental organizations, governments, coast guards, maritime operators, satellite newsgathering organizations, transportation companies and business continuity.
    “It is our clear ambition and strategy to be one of the major players in the global broadband landscape for satellite-based solutions,” Al Sayed said. “Looking at the enhancement plans for new services that we have in the pipeline combined with the distribution strengths of our service providers, we are very confident of accomplishing this goal.”
    The video streaming aspect of the new terminal is a key element in the company’s plans and something that Thuraya hopes will differentiate it in the increasingly competitive mobile data market place. “Our media customers especially like it to support their video streaming and videoconferencing requirements,” said Al Sayed. “We provide the flexibility to select flexible uplink and downlink streaming speeds. Due to our efficient and dynamic satellite resource allocation, we manage to prevent traffic congestion in hotspots typical for other solutions available in the market. During product development and after our launch, we have already got a very good response from major media companies for these services and the features offered.”
    Bringing these next-generation mobile broadband services to the maritime market will also be a priority. “Using a stabilized maritime antenna, this service shall support 444 kilobits per second on standard IP and up to 384 kilobits per second on streaming IP. This move will make Thuraya a frontrunner in providing this kind of service to the maritime market.”
    Thuraya has distribution deals for its broadband services in place in Europe, Asia, Middle East and Africa, and Al Sayed believes there is good potential in all of these markets. “Each region has its own distinct customers with special requirements we are serving,” he said. “In view of the presence of global hotspots, we believe Middle East and Africa would be strong markets. However, system integrators are already offering complete remote office environments based on ThurayaIP in the corporate market in Asia. This allows us to enter the very lucrative market for solution-based services.”