Thuraya signs up commercial partnership in Zambia
Abu Dhabi, Jan. 16, 2007 – Continuing its consistent focus on African markets, Thuraya Satellite Telecommunications Co. has recently forged a Service Provisioning (SP) agreement with SatCom for promoting and distributing its satellite services in Zambia.
A long-time commercial partner for Thuraya, the UK-based SatCom Distribution will be marketing and selling the whole range of Thuraya’s products and services in the southern African country. These include Thuraya’s second-generation handsets and Payphone and Rural Telephony solutions as well as ThurayaDSL broadband data service.
Under this agreement for Zambia, SatCom will also promote the “AfricaTalk tariffs”, a special tariff package customised for African communities. Currently available in 18 African countries, the package offers Thuraya-to-Thuraya calls at US$0.45 per minute and international calls at US$0.65 per minute, which is comparatively among the most affordable for telecom services in the continent.
“From initial market response, Thuraya services are expected to be of great demand by the large agricultural, mining and tourism sectors as well as to the corporate and mass market throughout Zambia,” said Thuraya’s CEO Yousuf Al Sayed.
Zambia, a nation of 11 million people, has made major progress in telecoms expansion in recent years, but both fixed-line and mobile phone services have yet to reach many parts of the country.
“Thuraya’s value proposition for Zambian customers is based on providing blanket satellite coverage of the country, uninterrupted service and at the best rates, enabling even low-income groups in villages and remote areas to benefit from these advanced services,” said Neil Jamieson of SatCom Middle East.
The new commercial partnership in Zambia is the latest in a series of steps and similar agreements announced by Thuraya during 2006 to boost business in Africa, which represents a sizable part of its core markets.