Monday, September 27, 2010

Thuraya Escalates Fight for Satellite Phone Customers

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Mobile satellite services provider Thuraya, in the latest demonstration that the global competition for mobile satellite telephone customers is heating up, is offering new subscribers a credit of $400 if they turn in a functioning non-Thuraya satellite telephone and purchase the new Thuraya XT model, Thuraya said.

The Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates-based company is gearing up for a direct competitive threat from London-based Inmarsat, which has been in the mobile satellite communications market for more than 30 years but has left the hand-held telephone end of the market to competitors including Iridium Communications of McLean, Va., and Globalstar of Milpitas, Calif., in addition to Thuraya.

That will change in June, when Inmarsat is scheduled to introduce its IsatPhone Pro hand-held device. Inmarsat has said it expects to gain a 10 percent share of the global market for hand-held satellite phones within two years, mainly by offering lower handset prices and lower user charges to take customers away from the existing providers.

Thuraya announced April 26 that it has already sold 8,000 XT telephones this year and expects that figure to reach 20,000 by year’s end. The XT, which retails for between $1,000 and $1,300, is billed as the most rugged on the market. Thuraya said the XT offers five to six hours of call time between battery charges and is both splash- and dust-proof.

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