Thuraya the Arabic name of the Pleiades, is a regional satellite phone provider. Its coverage area is most of Europe, the Middle East, North, Central and East Africa, Asia and Australia.[1]
The company is based in the United Arab Emirates and distributes its products and service through authorized service providers. Its shareholders are a mixture of Middle Eastern and North African telcos (in which Etisalat is a major one) and investment companies.
The current number of subscribers is around 250,000 (March 2006). Some 360,000 Thuraya handsets have been put in service since launch in 2001. The subscriber growth has apparently slowed down during the last year, but Thuraya still made a net profit of US$ 80 million on revenues of US$ 323 million in 2005 (compared to just US$ 26 million profit in 2004).
* Voice communications with hand held (Thuraya SO-2510, SG-2520, Hughes 7100 (discontinued) / 7101 and Ascom 21 (discontinued)) or fixed terminals
* Short message service
* 9.6 kbit/s of data & fax service
* 60 kbit/s downlink and 15 kbit/s uplink “GMPRS” mobile data service on SO and SG handsets
* 144 kbit/s high-speed data transfer via a notebook-sized terminal (ThurayaDSL)
* GPS is supported by all handsets
* A number of value-added services, such as news, call back, call waiting, missed calls, voicemail, WAP, etc.
* Prayer service: after sending the GPS position to a special number a reply is sent back containing exact prayer times and heading towards Mecca. Service available for Sunnis and Shias (slight time difference for praying between Sunni and Shia)
* A one-way ‘high power alert’ capability that notifies users of an incoming call, when the signal path to the satellite is obstructed (e.g. inside a building)
* Marine Services: a combination of a special (fixed) base station and subscription offering voice, fax, data and always on internet-access. Also an emergency service which, when activated, sends multiple SMS messages containing alarm-status and actual position to pre-defined destinations
Thuraya offers a range of products sold under their own brandname. Besides these products some 3rd party developers offer complete systems and accessories for their products.[2]
Most Thuraya handsets have a dual-mode feature that allows them to operate in the Thuraya satellite network and GSM terrestrial mobile networks. Thuraya has concluded roaming agreements with over 200 wireless (cellular) operators around the world, providing its customers the ability of using their Thuraya phones outside the satellite coverage. The dual-mode feature of the handset is similar to the Telit (GSM/Satellite) and Qualcomm (CDMA/Satellite) handsets on the Globalstar system.
Roaming for outgoing calls is only available for subscribers. For pre-pay (scratchcard) users of Thuraya roaming is only available for receiving incoming calls.
The Thuraya service was initially provided on Hughes 7100, 7101 and Ascom 21 handsets. These have been discontinued.
The satellite-only Thuraya SO-2510 was released in November 2006. It has a colour screen and is claimed to be the smallest and lightest satellite phone in the world and uses the VxWorks operating system. The Thuraya SG-2520 was released in early 2007, this is a dual-mode handset that also connects to GSM/GPRS services and is based on Windows CE and made by Apsat in South Korea.[4] The device is slightly bigger than the Thuraya SO-2510 but it also has a camera, GPS and support for SD Cards. The operating system is a rather customized version of Windows CE and is not at all like Windows Mobile. It has support for running Java ME applications only.
In 2009 a new rugged model came on the market the Thuraya XT. This handset is dust, shock and splash-water proof and offers GSM-like options like phone-calls, SMS / text services and internet access.[5]
Currently only the second generation handsets are on sale.
For the Thuraya SO-2510 and Thuraya SG-2520, a docking-station is available: the FDU 3500 indoor enabler. This docking station changes a handset into a fixed terminal for indoor use, using external antennas for communication and GPS. Calls can be made using the horn of the FDU or via a standard POTS telephone connected to the FDU. You can also connect a group 3 fax and a PC (via USB or COM: serial interface) to the FDU. A similar device exists for the first generation of Thuraya handsets.
Thuraya has also launched “Thuraya Module”, a small (70×50x20 mm) unit designed for integration into other devices. This provides USB and digital audio interfaces and runs on VxWorks OS. Previously, third-party hardware developers used to remove electronics from handsets and integrate it into their hardware.
For data-only an A5-sized terminal is available providing an always on TCP/IP connection to internet via an Ethernet interface with a PC at speeds up to 444 kbit/s. Thuraya offers the Thuraya IP and the Thuraya DSL. The IP offers an always on internet access and the DSL offers general packet data GPRS services.
An analog telephony adapter for the Thuraya network also exists.