Thuraya is a US $ 1 billion mobile satellite telecommunications project that serves about 100 nations in Europe, Africa and Asia.  Thuraya is a leading regional satellite services provider of mobile satellite services, offering voice and data connectivity to subscribers and it is based in the UAE. 

Thuraya is the only mobile satellite service on the global market capable of providing voice, messaging, SMS and e-mail from a mobile the size of a GSM: the perfect solution for both personal and professional use for less than $1 per minute.  Thuraya is ideal for international professionals who work in construction, mining, oil & gas, for NGOs, media organizations or the army, who need to remain constantly in touch, on a restrictive budget. 

Thuraya is the arabic word for the constellation of stars known as "The Pleides" or "The Seven Sisters". 

Thuraya is a regional satellite network that uses a geosynchronous satellite which is a much higher orbit (about 22,000 miles) than the LEO satellites used by Iridium or Globalstar.  This means Thuraya is very suitable for light to moderate data applications such as email or web browsing.  Positioned as the satellite mobile operator that is most similar to the familiar GSM service, Thuraya is continuously adopting and providing service features that are popularly offered by GSM systems.  The reach of Thuraya is vast as it has 80 partners in 3 continents enabling wider coverage outside the footprint area. 

Currently serving  250,000 customers with high-quality mobile voice and data services, Thuraya is one of the world’s leading satellite operators, with coverage reaching more than two billion people across Europe, North and Central Africa as well as large parts of Southern Africa, the Middle East, Central and South Asia.  Please take into consideration the fact that Thuraya is a radio communication system that covers around 120 countries and although all kind of precautions are taken well in advance, sometimes an interfering source, which is not even operating in the same frequency bands, could cause interference to Thuraya services.

Now, Thuraya is serving the world's largest subscriber base of handheld mobile satellite services and has sold over 341,000 handheld terminals since its commercial launch in 2001.  Thanks to these characteristics, Thuraya is the most modern means within world satellite phone market; a fundamental device both for professional and private environments like boat owners, mountaineering and trekking, international travels.

Some of the satellite phones from Thuraya can be viewed at

http://www.thuraya.com/content/flexible-dual-mode-technology.html