The Airbus Zephyr HAPS system. Photo: Airbus

The Airbus HAPS subsidiary Aalto HAPS has signed a new deal to bring its connectivity solutions to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The company announced a new MoU with the stc Group, a key Saudi telco, on March 3. Stc Group will have access to Aalto’s solutions, when the company rolls out commercial services by the end of 2024. Those solutions will enable stc to expand its geographical coverage to rural and remote areas currently unconnected, improving the service quality. In addition, HAPS solutions can serve to augment coverage during critical events and can be deployed quickly and easily in case of natural disasters.

“We are very pleased to count stc Group, the leading digital enabler in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and a major player in the region, as one of our pioneering partners looking into HAPS as an efficient, sustainable, and an environmentally friendly new stratospheric layer of connectivity to improve existing service; and add new reach beyond current infrastructure. Not only do our solutions offer a service that saves and improves lives, but they are also eco-friendly and respectful of the future of our planet,” Samer Halawi, CEO of Aalto HAPS, said in a statement.

Airbus launched the new HAPS connectivity service business in July 2022 to commercialize its Zephyr HAPS platform, and rebranded the company in January to Aalto HAPS, or Aalto.