Middle East Dubai, courtesy istockphoto.com Brimming with potential CABSAT 2009 in Dubai was held early in March and in addition to the satellite operators we know well, there were new players on the scene that remind us of the promise that this region holds for satellite service demand. From DTH to broadband, the Middle East holds huge potential for those operators and service providers who wish to take a chance on it. Satellite Evolution takes a look at what is happening in the region at present. The Middle East market presents a real opportunity for the satellite industry and the presence of companies from all over the world at the CABSAT 2009 exhibition highlighted this fact. Along with Africa, the Middle East represents one of the most dynamic emerging regions for satellite. The geographic nature of the Middle East, with its difficult terrain, means that it can often be impossible to lay cable or fibre optics to more isolated towns and villages and population can be very dispersed. Infrastructure may well serve the larger conurbations but outside of these there is a huge untapped market that is ripe for the satellite industry to pick. There is a great deal of pentup demand lying in the Middle Eastern region and the support of events in the Middle East such as CABSAT shows that companies are looking for new ways to reach their customers and to ensure that all communication mediums such as broadband and broadcast are made available to everyone. Euroconsult revealed that in the last five years alone, transponder demand has risen by 12 percent per year in the EMEA region. Interest in services such as DTH, voice and data has grown exponentially and there are interesting new developments happening in the region as Middle East-based companies try to meet this demand. Two new satellite operators were present at CABSAT that both have interesting and fresh perspectives on the delivery of these much sought after services for their region. There are several well established companies that focus on the Middle East region including well-known entities such as Nilesat, Arabsat and Thuraya. However, there are two new players on the Middle East scene that are putting forward very interesting propositions to the Middle East satellite market. The first is Al Yah Satellite 16 w w w.satellite-evolution.com | March/April 2009 middle east.p65 16 30/03/2009, 18:29