US$500 million private satellite firm launched in MENA

SmartSat, the first private satellite company in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region launched yesterday with startup capital of US$500 million, and intentions to bring prices down in the region’s wholesale satellite services industry.

SmartSat’s chairman and managing director Khaled Derbas said in addition to the MENA region, SmartSat will look at other international markets such as Eastern Europe

SmartSat is backed by Smartlink, the private Jordanian shareholding company that operates as a global broadband satellite provider in the MENA and Eastern Europe, and a Kuwaiti investment holding company which has not been named.

The company to be headquartered in Dubai, aims to serve the region’s internet service providers (ISPs), GSM operators, broadband technology solutions providers, television stations, ministries of communication, military agencies and companies dealing with data systems. SmartSat also plans to serve other international markets such as Eastern Europe.

“SmartSat aims to become a leading global private satellite service provider and it is keen to provide high-quality services at competitive prices. Furthermore, it is also our goal to create an environment of healthy competition in the MENA, which will ultimately benefit all consumers in general, and the satellite services sector in particular,” commented Khaled Derbas, SmartSat’s chairman and managing director.

The company plans to leverage the strong performance of the region’s satellite industry, whose commercial satellite-lease revenues reached a value of US$752 million in 2007, according to a recent study by Euroconsult and The London Satellite Exchange. The adoption of HDTV is also an opportunity for growth with worldwide satellite-delivered HDTV channels forecasted to grow to 350 per cent by 2013, according to the 2008 State of the Satellite Industry Report.