Satellite and Broadcasting

French satellite company Eutelsat Communications has acquired NOORSAT, one of the leading satellite service providers in the Middle East, from Bahrain's Orbit Holding Group.

ABS and Telcom Satellites TV (TSTV) signed a multi-transponder agreement to deliver a Direct-to-Home (DTH) broadcast service into Nigeria on ABS-3A.

Satellite operator Intelsat and Etisalat have announced plans to expand the distribution of Intelsat EpicNG services in the Middle East. Under a multiyear expansion, Etisalat will upgrade its network to deliver higher performance to customers in the region using the Intelsat 33e high-throughput satellite. Concurrently, Intelsat will leverage Etisalat's teleport in Dubai as an expansion node of the IntelsatOne Flex service.

Thuraya recently worked with service partners, Talia and NBS Maritime, to sponsor and support two climbers - Holly Budge and Dr. Atanas Skatov - in their summit expeditions to Mount Everest. Both Ms. Budge and Dr. Skatov completed their missions successfully and were able to stay connected with wireless data via Thuraya IP+ satellite terminals throughout their steep trek.

Thuraya Telecommunications recently attended USPACOM Pacific Endeavor 2017, hosted by the Global VSAT Forum (GVF) in the United States, where it presented an intensive training workshop on critical satellite communication technologies for first responders and military experts from 22 participating Asia-Pacific countries. The annual invite-only event ran from August 14 to 25 in San Jose, CA and focused on communications interoperability exercises that facilitate emergency cooperation and relief response between nations and humanitarian NGOs during times of disaster.

Thuraya Telecommunications Company, has announced the launch of Thuraya AERO, a satellite communication service that enables in-flight connectivity for internet access, voice calls, text messaging and high-speed data applications on board small to medium sized aircrafts.

Thaicom Public Company Limited, one of Asia's leading satellite operators and provider of integrated satellite communications services, announced an agreement with iSAT Africa Ltd FZC. (iSAT), a leading African telecommunications provider and a subsidiary of Wananchi Group Holdings, to provide iSAT's key customer in East Africa with fully managed satellite telecommunications services including satellite backup of its fiber network.

Thuraya Telecommunications Company announced that Mr. Ahmed Al Shamsi, chief technology officer has been appointed as temporary acting chief executive officer of the company, assuming the role immediately.

Luxembourg-based satellite company Intelsat recently announced a managed services solution that will provide 2G services in remote locations of Africa.  The solution leverages contributions of services provider BCom and technology provider Newtec for core components of the solution.

Es'hailSat, the Qatar Satellite Company and JASCO Media City announced the signing of framework agreement to launch a new MCPC platform to support the growing broadcast market in the Middle East. Under the terms of the agreement JASCO will provide bundled services including playout, compression and uplink together with satellite bandwidth on Es'hailSat Satellite.