UAE’s Thuraya Satellite Telecommunications Co. has launched its commercial service in Qatar, reported the Gulf Times on Monday.
Qatar’s telecom company, Q-Tel, which holds a 10 percent stake in the company, is providing Thuraya's service in Qatar, including ordinary GSM service as well as Global Mobile Personal Communication (GMPCS) via satellite.
Thuraya has introduced dual-mode handsets, which combine the two in a single unit, Q-Tel sources said.
Besides Qatar, Thuraya has soft launched its commercial service in the UAE, the UK, Italy, Sudan, France, Romania and Denmark.
Twenty countries in the Thuraya network would have full-fledged commercial service in the next few days, sources said.
The phased network expansion is planned to cover 99 countries and a population of 2.5 billion, they said.
Thuraya sources told the paper that the commercial service would allow customers to roam vast areas without service interruption or failure – Albawaba.com
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