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Thuraya offers cost-effective satellite-based
mobile telephone services to nearly one third of the globe.
Through its dynamic dual mode handsets and satellite payphones,
Thuraya will enhance freedom of movement and connectivity.
Through partnership with leading
national telecom and mobile communications companies, Thuraya
provides blanket-to-blanket coverage to more than 100 countries
in Europe, the Middle East, North and Central Africa Central
and South Asia: a landmass inhabited by an estimated 2.3
billion people.
Subscribers can access Thuraya's
mobile satellite system through service providers, who are
either be national GSM network companies or local telecom
operators. Thuraya in fact, complements national GSM networks,
allowing subscribers to remain connected to their national
mobile networks, and to access Thuraya’s system whenever
their preferred national network is out of reach.
Thuraya offers satellite, cellular
(GSM) service and location determination system (GPS) in
a single dual mode handset that is lightweight, elegant
and easy to use. The dynamic handset offers voice, data,
fax and short messaging services.
Thuraya was founded in the UAE in
1997 by a consortium of leading national telecommunications
operators and international investment houses. The turnkey
project was built by US satellite manufacturer Boeing Satellite
Systems formerly Hughes.
The Thuraya-1 satellite was successfully
launched on board a Sea Launch Zenit-3SL rocket from the
equator in the middle of the Pacific Ocean on 21st October
2000. The launch was a record success, as it was the first
satellite initiated from the Middle East and also the satellite
was the heaviest to be launched ever.
Thuraya's second satellite Thuraya
2 was launched on the 10th of June 2003 while a third satellite
is being built by Boeing Satellite Systems to expand system
capacity. The Thuraya 2 satellite was deployed into geosynchronous
transfer orbit by Sea Launch, which was also the launching
vehicle for Thuraya's first satellite.
Designed for a 12-15 year lifespan,
the Thuraya 2 satellite is positioned in Geosynchronous
Orbit, 35,786 km (22,236 miles) above the Earth, at 44 degrees
East Longitude and inclined at 6.3 degrees.
The Primary Gateway in Sharjah, UAE,
serves the entire Thuraya coverage area, and plans are underway
to establish additional national gateways at other locations
as necessary.
Thuraya's high degree of flexibility
and convenience will change the way people live and work;
their day-to-day lifestyles and the manner in which they
keep in touch with business associates and customers, families
and friends.
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