ComoreTel, the global toll-free services company and Thuraya, the regional satellite communications company, announced an international toll-free service to operate over a major satellite network.
The new agreement extends ComoreTel's Global269 international toll-free solution to all of Thuraya's coverage area. This includes blanket coverage to some of the remotest parts of Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the CIS and South Asia – a landmass inhabited by an estimated 2.3 billion people.
The new service will be welcome news for communications service providers with customers in the oil and gas, geology and shipping sectors who rely on satellite phones to deliver seamless communications services.
Communications service providers are now able to offer their customers a single Global269 number which allows toll-free call originations from Thuraya's satellite phone network. The same Global269 number can also be used to make toll-free calls from any other fixed or mobile network which supports the Global269 service.
Thuraya was founded in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in 1997 by a consortium of telecommunications and satellite companies, as well as international investment houses. The turnkey project, built by Boeing Satellite Systems, is designed for a lifespan of 12 to 15 years. The satellite is in geo-synchronous orbit positioned 36,000 kilometers above the earth, at 44 degrees East above the equator.
At a later date a spare ground satellite will be launched to expand system capacity. Thuraya provides mobile satellite telephony to a large coverage area spanning Europe, North and Central Africa, the Middle East, Central and South Asia.
Thuraya's handset, equipped with satellite, cellular (GSM) service and GPS, offers voice, data and fax at 9.6 Kbps and short messaging services. Other products include payphone, marine and indoor docking units, as well as fleet management systems. — (menareport.com)
© 2002 Mena Report (www.menareport.com)
