Abu Dhabi, UAE, 15 January 2008 – The third Geo-mobile satellite of Thuraya Satellite Telecom Co. has successfully been launched by Sea Launch today, allowing Thuraya to embark on major expansion plans and provide its cutting-edge mobile satellite services in the Asia-Pacific region in the first quarter of 2008.

Lifting off at 11:49 GMT (15:49 p.m. UAE local time) from the Odyssey Launch Platform at 154 degrees West Longitude, the Zenit-3SL rocket placed the 5,173 kg (11,381 lb) Thuraya-3 satellite manufactured by Boeing into Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit. Spacecraft separation occurred 99 minutes after liftoff, at 1,388 miles above the Pacific Ocean, north of New Zealand. A tracking station in Fillmore, California, acquired the first signal from the spacecraft a few minutes later as planned. All systems performed nominally throughout the flight.

In a press statement following the launch, Thuraya’s CEO Mr. Yousuf Al Sayed says, “The launch of Thuraya-3 is a significant milestone in the Company’s progress and growth, and in reinforcing Thuraya’s status as dynamic, world leading, multi-regional mobile satellite operator,”

He also said that Thuraya has had a long and impressive history with Sea Launch. “We have launched three Geo-mobile satellites so far, all by Sea Launch, and all have been very successful,” said Al Sayed, adding that Thuraya is continuously expanding, and Sea Launch has been instrumental in meeting Thuraya’s growing requirements.

He also reiterated that the Company has already completed all Ground network preparations for Thuraya-3, and signed commercial partnerships with several promising partners in Asia-Pacific. Hence all is set for commercial launch very early in 2008.

“Congratulations to Thuraya on the tremendous success of this mission,” said Rob Peckham, president and general manager of Sea Launch. “I also want to congratulate Boeing Satellite Systems and thank the entire Sea Launch team and all the people around the world who support us.

“We are proud to be supporting Thuraya’s expansion into the Asia-Pacific market with the launch of Thuraya-3. We especially appreciate Thuraya’s continued trust and confidence in our launch services and we look forward to future opportunities to support the growth of their business,” Peckham said.

Boeing built the Thuraya-3 spacecraft to provide a range of mobile voice and data services over large geographic regions. Thuraya, the world’s largest provider of handheld mobile satellite services, is preparing to operate commercially in Asia-Pacific markets as early as January 2008, when Thuraya-3 is expected to become operational. With a designed lifetime of 12 years, the satellite will be positioned in Geosynchronous Orbit, 35,786 km (22,236 miles) above the Earth, at 98.5 degrees East Longitude.

About Thuraya (www.thuraya.com)

Thuraya, based in the United Arab Emirates, provides cost-effective mobile satellite services in more than 110 countries in Asia, Africa, Europe and the Middle East. Services provided by Thuraya include mobile voice, broadband, maritime, rural telephony, fleet management and other advanced applications that enable people and businesses everywhere under its coverage to enjoy constant access to communications and information.

The Company has launched its third satellite on 15 January this year, bringing countries of the Asia-Pacific region under its footprint and extending its coverage to nearly two thirds of the globe’s population.

Thuraya was founded in 1997 by a consortium of leading national telecommunications operators and reputed investment firms from the region.

For more information, please contact:

Mr. Ebrahim K. Ebrahim
Corporate Communications Department
Thuraya Satellite Telecommunications Co.
Post Box 33344, Abu Dhabi, UAE
Tel. 971-2-616-1388
Fax: 971-2-641-7884
Email: e_ebrahim@thuraya.com

Sea Launch Company, LLC, based in Long Beach, Calif., offers the most direct and cost-effective route to geostationary orbit for commercial communications satellites. With the advantage of a launch site on the Equator, the robust Zenit-3SL rocket can lift a heavier mass or provide longer life on orbit, offering best value plus schedule assurance. For additional information and images about the Thuraya-3 mission, please visit the Sea Launch website at: www.sea-launch.com
 

As Part of Successful Diversification Strategy,
THURAYA Launches High-Speed Satellite Data Service “THURAYA DSL”

12th April, 2005

Dubai, UAE: Building on a strong market leadership in handheld mobile satellite services, the UAE-based regional satellite operator, Thuraya, is launching soon a high-speed satellite Internet service branded as “ThurayaDSL”. As a first step towards an ambitious long-term satellite broadband portfolio, ThurayaDSL is aimed to improve the Company's service offerings to customers in need of reliable high-speed data services in areas lacking adequate terrestrial infrastructure.

The new service will be available across the whole regional coverage of Thuraya spanning more than 120 countries in Europe, North and Central Africa, large parts of Southern Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia and South Asia.

ThurayaDSL is a user-friendly service, based on a notebook-sized plug-and-play device that offers a speed up to 144 kbps on a shared channel. Simply, this terminal, which is SIM card operated, needs to be connected via Ethernet to a notebook or a computer for a normal Internet/data usage.

Thuraya's CEO Mr. Yousuf Al Sayed said ThurayaDSL will complement the Company's existing range of services and solutions geared towards key customers in major corporates, oil and gas operations, NGOs, business travelers, media and other users of data applications.

ThurayaDSL offers a similar experience to that in terrestrial Internet service at office or home, providing a broad range of applications such as Email, Internet, web browsing, File Transfer Protocol, Virtual Private Network and other data facilities.

“The real attraction in this offering is two things: first, it is highly affordable; and second, we are also introducing with it an innovative packaging concept constituting a new value for the mobile satellite industry, especially in the ‘unlimited usage' aspect” added Mr. Al Sayed.

He explained that the service would be offered on both Post-paid and Prepaid bases. In view of the varying sizes and work nature of customers, Thuraya has come up with four Postpaid service packages: Light, Plenty, Extra and Unlimited, reflecting different usage volumes and price denominations. There is a fixed monthly subscription fee and a service charge per Megabyte on actual usage that includes some free usage Megabytes on a monthly basis.

“As such, the higher the customer's usage volume, the lower will be his usage price,” said Mr. Al Sayed.

Mr. Al Sayed said Thuraya has made substantial investment in the GPRS ground infrastructure technology, and that ThurayaDSL is the first product in the Company's GPRS program that is set to position Thuraya as a key player in the satellite broadband market in the coming few years. “Plans for more advanced data applications are already underway,” he emphasized.

Talking of distribution of the new service, he pointed out, “One of our key strengths is that we have an extensive distribution chain comprising more than 100 Service Providers across our vast regional coverage. This makes it much easier and faster for us to offer new services immediately in most, if not all, our markets,” he elaborated.

Once launched, ThurayaDSL will be immediately available from all Thuraya's SP outlets.

Thuraya provides cost-effective satellite-based communication solutions in urban centres, as well as remote areas and villages and seas beyond terrestrial telecom networks. It offers mobile and fixed telephony, rural telephony solutions in remote area, maritime communications, fleet management & vehicle tracking, and satellite Internet services across a vast footprint of more than 120 countries.