The rising number of super-yachts in the region is driving up demand for satellite broadband.
The maritime business of SkyStream, a satellite communications company owned by Abu Dhabi’s Atlas Telecom, has grown by 50 per cent over the past year as more wealthy people across the region invest in yachts.
“The maritime business is growing very fast. We are witnessing 50 per cent growth every year and expect the same this year,” said Riyadh Al Adely, the managing director at SkyStream. “The bigger the yacht the more megahertz it needs, and the Middle East is one of the fastest-growing markets for 100-metre and above yachts.”
According to research by a unit of Art Marine, a marine hospitality company, the UAE has 30 marinas and 4,816 berths, accounting for 38 per cent of the entire GCC marina market. The International Boat Show in Dubai experienced 20 per cent growth in the number of exhibitors last week, where 30 luxury boats and 19 super-yachts were on display.
These yachts demand internet and television-on-demand connectivity, which can be provided only with satellites, said Mr Al Adely, whose company has been appointed as the international distributor of YahSat’s YahClick satellite broadband service ahead of the Cabsat trade show that starts on Tuesday. It will sell the satellite broadband service across the Middle East and North Africa region to consumers and enterprises. It will put a particular focus on Iraq, where fixed-line broadband connectivity is expensive.
“Telecoms is an important element in a country’s infrastructure. Iraq is a good potential for the satellite industry because of the oil and the political challenges,” said Mr Al Adely.
Countries that are affected by instability tend to become lucrative markets for satellite service providers because the communications infrastructure and backbone may be easily affected or shut down. Non-governmental organisations, news outlets and emergency services in such places rely on satellites for communication.
As the Syrian civil war heated up, Dubai-based Thuraya noted higher sales and a 40 per cent increase in traffic during communications blackouts that frequently occurred in the country.
The lack of fibre-optic infrastructure in Iraq and the rising number of oilfields makes it a prime target.
“Iraq as a market is huge. Its infrastructure is still lacking and needs more resources, and people need to access more data in retail and oil and gas,” said Mr Al Adely.
Yahsat’s satellite has coverage in 28 countries across the Middle East, Africa and Central and South-west Asia, covering 1 billion people. Already YahClick is live in 11 countries, including Afghanistan, Iraq, Yemen and South Africa.
thamid@thenational.ae
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