Welcome to our first ever dedicated edition of Via Satellite for the Middle East & Africa region. This issue will have a special distribution at the AfricaCom event in Cape Town in November. We are delighted to bring you our third dedicated regional edition of the year, following earlier iterations dedicated to Asia and Latin America.

The Middle East & Africa are both vibrant regions for satellite communications with strong demands for capacity. In particular, Africa could become the next big hotspot for satellite. Tom Choi our current Satellite Executive of the Year, said “Africa is the new Brazil,” alluding to the potential in the market.

In this edition, we concentrate on end user demands for satellite capacity in both regions. In the Middle East, we put the spotlight on companies such as Nawras, a wireless operator based in Oman; OSN, the region’s leading DTH platform; and Rotana, one of the key broadcasters in the region.

In Africa, we also talk to some of the key buyers of satellite capacity such as MultiChoice Africa, a DTH platform that operates across a number of different markets in Africa. Additionally, we talk to a number of wireless operators including the industry giants in the region, Vodacom and MTN, about their demands for satellite capacity.

We also bring you two columns. The first, written by Jawad Abbassi, president of Arab Advisors, looks at the satellite TV market in the Middle East. The second, written by Felix Damiba, managing director of Africa for Asia Broadcast Satellite, talks about the demands for satellite capacity in the region.

Overall, it promises to be an exciting time for all market participants and, with economies in both regions showing strong signs, the satellite industry is in good shape to make the most of the considerable market potential.