Al Yah Satellite Communications
Al Yah Satellite Communications, AlYahsat is a satellite communications company wholly owned subsidiary of Mubadala Development Company, the Abu Dhabi Government's strategic investment company. The company offers voice, data, video and internet services for broadcast, Internet and VSAT users for both private and government organisations.
PrJsc | |
Industry | Satellite communication |
Founded | January 2007 |
Headquarters | , |
Area served | South West Asia, Middle East, Africa, Eastern Europe |
Key people | Jassem Mohamed Al Zaabi Chairman Masood M. Sharif Mahmood CEO |
Products | Satellite Broadband Internet, Satellite Broadcast, Secure Satellite Connectivity. |
Website | http://www.yahsat.ae. |
Corporate History
Incorporated in January 2008 the company had an aim of developing, operating and using multi-purpose (Government and commercial) communications satellite systems for the Middle East, Africa, Europe and South-West Asia regions.[1]
In July 2008, Yahsat approved a consortium of EADS Astrium and Thales Alenia to construct Yahsat's own satellites, manufacturing took 36 months to be completed in Europe. Arianespace were appointed to launch the first satellite Al Yah 1, currently positioned at 52.5° East.[2]
In August 2008, Yahsat signed a 15-year lease agreement with the UAE Armed Forces to provide secure satellite communications in the UAE as Yahsat's first government customer. As part of this contract, Yahsat will supply the ground terminals and gateway infrastructure for satellite network services.[3]
In August 2009 Yahsat entered into a partnership with European satellite operator SES to create a new company operating under the brand name YahLive offering Direct-to-Home (DTH) television capacity and services to more than two dozen countries in the Middle East, North Africa and South West Asian region.[4]
The first satellite was launched from the Guiana Space Centre in Kourou, French Guiana on 22 April 2011.[5]
A second satellite (Al Yah 2), weighing approx. 6 tons, has been launched by International Launch Services (ILS) on a Proton Breeze M vehicle from the Baikonour Kosmodrome in Kazakhstan on April 24, 2012, at 22:18 GMT.[6]
Yahsat Satellites
Al Yah 1 | Al Yah 2 | Al Yah 3 | |
---|---|---|---|
Contractor | EADS Astrium & Thales Alenia | Orbital ATK | |
Launch | 22 April 2011 | 23 April 2012 | 25 January 2018 [7] |
Orbital Location | 52.5° E | 47.5° E | 20.0° W |
Lifetime | 15 Years[8] | ||
Launcher | Ariane 5 | ILS-Proton-M | Ariane 5 ECA |
Capacity/Payload | C-band: 8 × 36 MHz + 6 × 54 MHz Transponders.
Ku-band BSS: 25 × 33 MHz Transponders. Ka-band Military: 21 × 54 MHz Secure Transponders. |
Ka-band Commercial: 25 × 110 MHz Transponders
Ku-band BSS: 27 × 39 MHz Transponders. Ka-band Military: 29 × 57 MHz Secure Transponders. |
Ka-band Commercial: 80 × 10 MHz Transponders
Ka-band Military: 70 × 57 MHz Secure Transponders[9] |
A satellite filecasting service known as Toosheh, or "Knapsack" in Persian,[10] currently distributes content through the Yahsat Y1B satellite at 52.5° E.[11][12] to Iran and the Middle East bypassing any local censorship of the Internet. This service works by using a common inexpensive satellite television receiver with PVR function to record video to flash media for later watching, the saved video stream is later decoded using Toosheh's software, the decoded media can then be viewed or decoded software can be run on a computer or mobile device, the service beams down 2Gb of data a day.
References
- "Al Yah Satellite Communications Company (Yahsat)". Mubadala Development Company PJSC. Retrieved 26 July 2013.
- "Arianespace to launch Yahsat 1A satellite for United Arab Emirates". Arianespace. 16 January 2008. Archived from the original on 12 August 2014. Retrieved 26 July 2013.
- "Yahsat to provide secure satellite services for UAE Armed Forces". Internet Archive. April 2008. Archived from the original on 17 August 2011. Retrieved 26 July 2013.
- "Ses Astra and Yahsat Start Middle East Satellite Company". Ses. 20 April 2009. Retrieved 26 July 2013.
- "Arianespace launch a success: Yahsat Y1A and Intelsat New Dawn in orbit". Arianspace. 22 April 2011. Archived from the original on 23 October 2013. Retrieved 26 July 2013.
- Hawkes, Rebecca. "AlYahsat celebrates after launch of second satellite". Rapid TV News. Retrieved 29 January 2013.
- "SatLaunch.net - Satellite Launches & Footprints: Launch Schedule 2012". SatLaunch.net. SatLaunch.net. Retrieved 26 July 2013.
- "Yahsat Fleet". Retrieved 6 April 2018.
- "Yahsay Brochure" (PDF). Yahsay. Internet Archive. Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 June 2010. Retrieved 26 July 2013.
- Murphy, David. “Toosheh Uses Satellite TV to Sneak Content Past Iranian Censorship.” PCMAG, 24 Apr. 2016, www.pcmag.com/news/343972/toosheh-uses-satellite-tv-to-sneak-content-past-iranian-cens. Retrieved 1 March 2018.
- "Al Yah 1 at 52.5°E". LyngSat. April 9, 2018. Retrieved 10 April 2018.
- "Yahsat 1B". SATBEAMS. 2016. Retrieved 10 April 2018.