Thuraya

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Thuraya

Type
Founded	1997
Headquarters	United Arab Emirates UAE
Industry	Satellite communication
Website	www.thuraya.com

Thuraya (Arabic: الثريا /aθːurajːa/ which is the Arabic name for the Pleiades) is a regional satellite phone provider, its coverage area covers most of Europe, the Middle East, North, Central and East Africa, Asia and Australia^[1].

The company is based in the United Arab Emirates and distributes its products and service through authorized service providers. Its shareholders are a mixture of Middle Eastern and North African telcos (in which Etisalat is a major one) and investment companies.

The current number of subscribers is around 250,000 (March 2006). Some 360,000 Thuraya handsets have been put in service since launch in 2001. The subscriber growth has apparently slowed down during the last year, but Thuraya still made a net profit of US$ 80 million on revenues of US$ 323 million in 2005 (compared to just US$ 26 million profit in 2004).

1 Services
2 Subscriber equipment
3 Technical details of the network
- 3.1 Satellites
4 Gallery of Images
5 See also
6 References
7 External links

[edit] Services

Voice communications with handheld (Thuraya SO-2510, SG-2520, Hughes 7100 (discontinued) / 7101 and Ascom 21 (discontinued)) or fixed terminals
Short message service
9.6 kbit/s of data & fax service
60 kbit/s downlink and 15kbit/s uplink "GMPRS" mobile data service on SO and SG handsets
144 kbit/s high-speed data transfer via a notebook-sized terminal (ThurayaDSL)
GPS is supported by all handsets
A number of value-added services, such as news, call back, call waiting, missed calls, voicemail, WAP, etc.
A one-way 'high power alert' capability that notifies users of an incoming call, when the signal path to the satellite is obstructed (e.g. inside a building)

[edit] Subscriber equipment

All Thuraya handsets (except for the SO-2510) have a dual-mode feature that allows them to operate in the Thuraya satellite network and GSM terrestrial mobile networks. Thuraya has concluded roaming agreements with over 200 wireless (cellular) operators around the world, providing its customers the ability of using their Thuraya phones outside the satellite coverage. The dual-mode feature of the handset is similar to the Telit (GSM/Satellite) and Qualcomm (CDMA/Satellite) handsets on the Globalstar system.

The second generation of Thuraya devices are becoming available. The satellite-only SO-2510 was released in November 2006. It has a colour screen and is claimed to be the smallest and lightest satellite phone in the world and uses the VxWorks operating system. The SG-2520 was released in early 2007, this is a dual-mode handset that also connects to GSM/GPRS services and is based on Windows CE and made by Apsat in South Korea^[2]. The device is slightly bigger than the SO-2510 but it also has a camera, GPS and support for SD Cards. The operating system is a rather customised version of Windows CE and is not at all like Windows Mobile. It has support for running Java J2ME applications only.

Thuraya has also launched "Thuraya Module", a small (70x50x20 mm) unit designed for integration into other devices. This provides USB and digital audio interfaces and runs on VxWorks OS. Previously, third-party hardware developers used to remove electronics from handsets and integrate it into their hardware.

Handsets communicate directly with the satellites using an antenna of roughly the same length as the handset and have a maximum output power of 2 Watts. QPSK modulation is used for the air interface. Thuraya SIM cards will work in regular GSM phones and ordinary GSM SIM cards can be used on the satellite network as long as the GSM provider has a roaming agreement with Thuraya. As with all geosynchronous voice services a noticeable lag is present while making a call.

[edit] Technical details of the network

Thuraya's country calling code is +882 16, which is part of the ITU-T International Networks numbering group. Thuraya is not part of the +881 country calling code numbering group as this is allocated by ITU-T for networks in the Global Mobile Satellite System, of which Thuraya is not a part, being a regional rather than a global system.

[edit] Satellites

Thuraya operates three communications satellites built by Boeing

Thuraya 1

The first satellite, named Thuraya 1, has deficient solar panels and cannot operate properly, this satellite is currently positioned above Korea for testing purposes. It was launched on 2000-10-21 by SeaLaunch on a Zenit 3SL rocket.^[3] At launch it weighed 5250 kg.^[4]

Thuraya 2

Thuraya 2 was launched by SeaLaunch on 2003-06-10.^[5] It is located in geosynchronous orbit at 44 deg-E longitude, inclined at 6.3 degrees.^[6] The satellite can handle 13,750 simultaneous voice calls. This satellite currently servers most of Europe, the Middle East, Africa and parts of Asia

Thuraya 3

The third satellite was planned for launch by SeaLaunch in Q1 2007, and the start of Far East and Australia service was planned for 2007-10-15. The failure in January 2007 of the NSS-8 rocket led to a substantial delay in the launch of Thuraya-3, which was rescheduled for 2007-11-14, but the launch was postponed due to sea conditions.^[7] The launch vessels set out from port again on 2008-01-02, and launch occurred successfully at 11:49 GMT on 2008-01-15.^[8]^[9]