Yahsat awarded Brazil
Licence
3
March 2016
UAE-based satellite operator, Yahsat, has been
awarded a license to operate its upcoming Ka-band
satellite, Al Yah 3, by the National
Telecommunications Agency, ANATEL, in Brazil.
The award of the license follows Yahsat’s
success in an auction held by ANATEL in May
2015, offering satellite operators the option to
bid for rights to operate a satellite, as a
Brazilian operator, over Brazil. Upon
winning the auction, Yahsat elected to use the
license for Al Yah 3, positioned at the 20oW
orbital slot.
Yahsat’s award of the operating license marks a
significant milestone in materialising the
company’s international expansion strategy. Al
Yah 3 will cover over 95 per cent of Brazil’s
population across more than 5,000 municipalities
offering high-speed, affordable broadband
satellite internet services as well as economic,
high data rate backhaul links for ISPs and
telecommunications operators.
Commenting on Yahsat’s growing geographic reach,
Masood M. Sharif Mahmood, Yahsat Chief Executive
Officer said: “This is a moment of great pride
for us, as Yahsat will be operating as a major
provider for communications in Brazil. Our
market entry has taken many years of planning
from our headquarters in Abu Dhabi and we would
like to thank the UAE government for their
unwavering support of Yahsat’s international
expansion.”
“Today, Yahsat is the 7th largest satellite
operator, in terms of revenue, and we have
witnessed continued success through the delivery
of our innovative satellite broadband products
and services, from our home here in the UAE to
several regions across Asia, the Middle East,
and Africa. We look forward to providing our
services in Brazil to address the shortage of
reliable internet connectivity”.
Brazil is a key market for Yahsat’s services,
having one of the highest levels of internet
consumption per user in the world, and a rapidly
increasing demand for broadband and internet
services. However, Brazil faces the distinct
challenge of being a vast country with a large
and growing population across underserved and
unserved areas. Yahsat’s experience across
different geographies enables it to provide
reliable connection without depending on
terrestrial infrastructure.
Yahsat has made extensive progress on the ground
in anticipation of commercialising its services
in Brazil. An office has been established in Rio
de Janeiro, which is staffed by a growing team
of industry experts from Brazil. In addition,
the country will be supported by major
infrastructure, services and contracts. Yahsat
is now in possession of landing rights to
operate as a local satellite provider in Brazil
enabling them to provide up to 190 million of
its population with the latest products and
services.
Yahsat’s third satellite, Al Yah 3, is scheduled
for service launch in early 2017, extending the
company’s commercial ka-band coverage to an
additional 19 countries and 600 million users
across Brazil and Africa.
