July 3, 2006
Thuraya Satellite Telecommunications Private Joint Stock Company has awarded multiple contracts, worth almost $60 million, to Hughes Network Systems.
The contracts involve the development and supply of a high-speed mobile data system, consisting of a gateway and 2,000 mobile/transportable terminals; a next generation secondary gateway that will perform load-sharing functions for the existing primary gateway in the UAE; an advanced operations center to be installed at a new site in UAE; and the provision of 1,500 additional mobile system voice circuits.
These additional voice circuits will enable Thuraya to approximately double the more than 400,000 subscribers on its existing system, utilizing portable, cellphone-sized handsets that combine satellite, GSM cellular, and GPS functionality.
The agreements build on a multi-year relationship between Hughes and Thuraya, which began in 2001.