Abu Dhabi-based satellite communications company Yahsat has announced that it is targeting new markets in Africa, Asia and the Middle East
Chief commercial officer, David Murphy, told Arabian Business that in many parts of the region's national servers have been down for a long time amid ongoing political instability.
According to Murphy, in many countries, such as Yemen and Iraq, there is “virtually no connectivity”, presenting new potential opportunities for Yahsat.
“Unfortunately, anywhere there is turbulence in the world, demand picks up for our services; so we have seen a huge demand for our services in Iraq and Yemen recently,” Murphy added.
Speaking on the sidelines of a government conference in Abu Dhabi, Murphy said that the company was pressing ahead with ambitious expansion plans in Africa. Yahsat is preparing to mobilise a third satellite by the fourth quarter of 2016, which will enable it to serve a further 600mn people with its YahClick broadband service, the company claimed.
Murphy said that there are approximately 16 markets across Africa where Yahsat has no presence, including Zimbabwe, Congo, Zambia, Senegal and Ivory Coast. The new satellite is expected to boost coverage in these locations, as well as in Brazil, a new market for the company.
