Thuraya partners with SoftBank Mobile for satellite network services in Japan

A joint announcement by Thuraya Telecommunications and SoftBank Mobile revealed that the two companies have formed a partnership to offer mobile satellite communications services to business, enterprise, and consumer subscribers in Japan. The new partners will leverage Thuraya’s network of communications satellites for their aforementioned services.

Softbank Mobile has received approval to distribute Thuraya’s satellite network services in Japan. The distribution channels of the Japanese telecommunications company will begin offering Thuraya’s handsets and airtime services starting February 2013. Both companies will also develop a new Thuraya handset with unique features; SoftBank Mobile will be the exclusive distributor of the new handset.

The new partnership provides SoftBank users with access to Thuraya’s communications satellite network in areas that cannot be reached by terrestrial networks due to remote rough terrain or natural disasters. The satellite communications services extended by Thuraya will allow individual and enterprise consumers to enjoy clear communications at any time and anywhere in Japan and its surrounding maritime areas.

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Orbital Science: HYLAS 2 Ka-band satellite successfully makes orbit

Orbital Sciences Corporation announced this August 14, 2012 that the HYLAS 2 broadband communications satellite it built for Avanti Communications Group PLC has successfully reached orbit.

The launch mission for the Orbital Sciences-built, Avanti-operated started on Thursday, August 2, 2012. An Ariane 5 rocket lifted off from Kourou, French Guiana a few minutes before 5:00 PM local time. The HYLAS 2 satellite successfully separated from the rocket’s final stage slightly over half an hour after liftoff.

“The HYLAS 2 mission is going very well so far following another successful launch by Arianespace," Mr. Christopher Richmond, Orbital’s Senior Vice President of Communications Satellites, said in an announcement. "Over the next several weeks," he added, "we will work with the engineering team from Avanti to conduct in-orbit testing to verify the spacecraft’s systems before it enters commercial service.”

According to Orbital Science, the HYLAS 2 satellite project proceed just as planned from design phase to its early in-orbit activation and verification processes. "We have worked closely with Avanti every step of the way," SVP Richmond elaborated, "following our model of superior customer involvement throughout the program to ensure our customer’s needs are fully met. We are pleased to be a part of Avanti’s team, bringing exciting new applications and services to these fast-growing markets.”

The Orbital Science-designed and -built HYLAS 2 platform is a high-throughput Ka-Band satellite. It will allow satellite communications company Avanti to provide broadband dat and video services to customers in Eastern and Southern Africa, Eastern Europe and the Middle East, and across the Caucasus.