A top line-up of international and regional experts in satellite communications will discuss the next steps forward in a global military telecom market that is expected to reach $17.4 billion in 2013 at an upcoming summit in Abu Dhabi.

The global space and satellite forum Milsatcom Middle East is set to take place on May 7 and 8 at the Ritz-Carlton Grand Canal.

The delegates will be out in force to meet the satellite communications needs of Middle East military, government, and security agencies, discussing what their satellite operational requirements might be and how they can be best addressed using state-of-the-art satellite technologies.

The conference will begin with the inaugural address from Prince Dr Turki Al-Saud, vice president of King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology.

Ali Al Hashemi, executive director of YahService at Yahsat, said: “Yahsat is a provider of world-class satellite services for several different verticals, whether, commercial or government. Working with our partners, we are able to deliver YahService, which provides integrated satellite communications solutions by using Yahsat’s product capabilities, allowing us to deliver a complete solution throughout Yahsat's coverage area.”

“Our participation at Milsatcom Middle East gives us a fantastic platform to showcase our product capabilities to the global military communications market, while highlighting the capabilities of our Y1A and Y1B satellites.

“Last year, we successfully completed trials of the U.S. Department of Defense’s (DoD) compatible Ka-band-capable terminals over the Y1A satellite on our dedicated government satellite service. This positions Yahsat as one of the only commercial satellite providers to have operationally proven its ability to deliver military Ka-band services to government entities in Africa, the Middle East and Asia,” he added.

Milsatcom Middle East will also feature a dedicated exhibition, where organisations will launch their latest COTS satellite systems ideally suited for the region’s military communication purposes.

Among them include Telenor Satellite Broadcasting (TSBc), a major satellite provider of broadcast and data services throughout Europe and the Middle East, who will use the platform to introduce its new THOR 7 Ka band satellite to the region.

Due for commercial operation in 2014, the THOR 7 High Throughput Satellite (HTS) payload will offer 6-9 Gigabits per second (Gbps), with a range covering the North Sea, Baltic Sea, the Mediterranean, and the Middle East.

Jose Salame, sales manager Mena for TSBc, and a speaker at Milsatcom Middle East, said: “The THOR 7 Ka band payload has been primarily designed to provide optimum satellite coverage over key maritime regions but it also has the capability of providing land based satellite coverage in the Middle East, which could be very interesting for the military sector.

“Since the Middle East is typically very dry with minimal rain, THOR 7 Ka band is ideal at offering high frequency satellite services that will not be affected by rain fade that is often the case for Ka band in other parts of the world.” – TradeArabia News Service