Thuraya Roadshow in Libya
Tripoli, Dec. 13, 2006– Thuraya held its first Libyan roadshow in the Libyan capital, Tripoli. The event which was held in cooperation with Thuraya’s service provider, the state-run General Post and Telecom Co.(GPTC) was mainly aimed at corporate and government customers.
Libya is the fourth largest country in Africa with a population of about six million people and an untapped telecom market. With only about 500,000 mobile phones and less than 200,000 landlines, the country is seen as a key market for Thuraya’s satellite services.
Although operational in the country since 2004, the roadshow was the first marketing exercise from Thuraya.
The event attended by more than 200 participants consisting mainly of high ranking government officials including the UAE ambassador to Libya, oil & gas professionals and media was a huge success generating a lot of interest in the local media.
The event was aired live on the country’s major radio station and a recorded version was telecast on the country’s national TV network as well.
The roadshow was followed by a press conference focusing on the new Thuraya phones and products which received wide media coverage from the press and the TV media. GPTC’s products display and demonstration area at the event received major attention especially for ThurayaDSL. Media representatives besides the listeners of the aired live Radio show raised questions ranging from Thuraya products and services to Thuraya’s long term plans with its service provider-GPTC.
Another event, targeting the energy sector, is planned for late January. Libya has been witnessing a boom in the sector after foreign oil and gas companies started moving back to the country in 2004 following the easing of Western sanctions.
Early discussions have revealed that the Libyan government will consider making it mandatory for energy companies to buy mobile satellite terminals from GPTC, which sells only Thuraya products. The move is expected to generate a huge demand for Thuraya products.
Thuraya is also marketing its Rural Telephony Solutions in the country aggressively. The installation of hundreds of Payphones sold to Libya is expected to be completed in 2007.
The event ended on a successful note with several concluded business deals for the Thuraya SO-2510 and ThurayaDSL. A total of 3,500 S0-2510s and 100 ThurayaDSL modems were sold during the roadshow.