ARAB SATELLITE TELECOMMUNICATION ORGAINZATION (ARABSAT) and EMERGING MARKETS COMMUNICATIONS (EMC) announce their joint venture to launch TRIO, the first real triple play service over satellite in the world.

The TRIO platform is built on SATLink technology owned by EMC and the soon-to-be launched new ARABSAT Badr-7 satellite at the MENA hotspot @ 26º East to produce a state of the Art STB that will provide TV viewers and household consumers with an unprecedented experience bundling a 10Mb broadband connectivity over satellite, FTA and Pay TV reception, huge recording capability and smart algorithms for VOD with a vast catalog of new titles of international and national content from the famous production studios and Arab World, and will act as a Wi-Fi bridge for the households where all handheld devices can be connected to enjoy access to Internet and linear TV, each on his/her screen.

TRIO will have also an enterprise version for broadband over satellite that has been proven already in the market as the solution of choice for enterprise and VSAT networks and with the embedded SatLink technology and patents.

Arabsat Badr-7 will be launched early November, 2015 and its high throughput Ka-band payload was especially designed to support TRIO solutions for MENA and selected African markets. The service will be formally launched upon readiness of the satellite for commercial operations post the launch.

Khalid Balkheyour, President & CEO of ARABSAT said: “we offer our viewers @ 26º East an amazing TV viewing experience, it’s no longer about watching TV, it’s now about enjoying and interacting, it’s about creating a house environment of amusement and convenience. The enterprise version of TRIO will be promoted as the technology platform for all governmental and enterprise networks on Arabsat satellites. Arabsat and EMC have been strong partners for more than 10 years now and we are proud to be part of such an innovation leap in the industry”.

Abel Avellan, the CEO of EMC commented: “TRIO was built on the superior SatLink technology that supported the telecom market for many years; with the conversion trends between Media and Telecom, we have invested heavily in R&D activities to produce a revolutionary chipsets that can support many applications including 4K. This joint venture with Arabsat will take TRIO further as the product of choice for TV markets”.

Santiago Rossi, the General Manager of the newly established TRIO also commented: “under the current JV, the assets and know-how of SatLink have been transferred into TRIO to allow for an autonomous operation and to serve the needs of both ARABSAT and EMC and support their big database of customers. We trust that this revolutionary platform will be adopted by both telecom and media players who wants to serve their customers with a fully immersive product for their digital lifestyle as well as enterprise and governments that wants to bring efficient communications and content distribution to their communities. We are all very excited and looking forward to have the Badr-7 Satellite @ 26º East hotspot and we are planning to expand into other regions”.

About Arabsat
Founded in 1976, Arabsat has been serving the growing needs of the Arab world for over 30 years. Now one of the world’s top satellite operators and by far the leading satellite services provider in the Arab world, it carries over 500 TV channels, 160 radio stations, pay-tv networks and wide variety of HD channels reaching tens of millions of homes in more than 80 countries across the Middle East, Africa and Europe—including an audience of over 170 million viewers in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region alone tuned into Arabsat’s video “hotspot” @ 26º East.
Operating a growing fleet of owned satellites at the 20° E, 26° E, 30.5° E and 34.5° E, ARABSAT is the only satellite operator in the MENA region offering the full spectrum of Broadcast, Telecommunications and Broadband services. This capacity will continue to expand with the launching of new satellites, making ARABSAT satellites’ fleet the youngest in the region.
Arabsat also maintains strategic partnerships with most of the world’s leading satellite companies and VAS integrators and recently acquired Hellas Sat, one of the leading telecom groups in southeastern Europe. These partnerships and acquisitions continue to expand Arabsat’s reach with new orbital slots and frequency rights, allowing customers to reach farther than ever and deliver content and state-of-the-art solutions to any end-viewers audience or business partner around the world. www.arabsat.com

About EMC
EMC specializes in provisioning mission-critical communications services to organizations and people on the move in the most remote locations. At sea, on land and in the air, the company provides seamless, reliable connectivity and access to live worldwide TV, on-demand video content, Internet, voice, cellular and 3G services, globally. The company operates in 140 countries and runs 52 worldwide field support centers. EMC leverages its wholly-owned and operated satellite and terrestrial broadband network with fully meshed Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) interconnected teleports. They are located in the U.S., Europe, Brazil, Africa and Asia, and include facilities with the largest global traffic in Holmdel, N.J. and Raisting, Germany respectively. EMC tailors its suite of services and products for the most demanding users of mission-critical applications for oil & gas, cruise and ferries, yachts, commercial shipping, mobile network operators, U.S. Government, the United Nations (UN)/non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and global enterprises. For more information, visit www.emc-corp.net or, www.mtnsat.com.

About TRIO
TRIO is a media delivery solution utilizing bi-directional satellite technology that provides access to Internet, media programming and interactive applications. Using cutting-edge technology, users enjoy top features like 4K and DVR functionality on their TV set or connected devices for TVOSD and SVOD, free to air channel capabilities and high speed broadband capable of delivering voice solutions. TRIO’s recommendation engine provides a personalized experience with access to a catalog of thousands of movies and TV Series. For governments and corporate solutions, TRIO offers the most efficient distribution platform. For more information, visit www.trioplay.com.

For information on ARABSAT:
Please contact Saad Al Tehaif, ARABSAT PR & Media Manager
Saadt@arabsat.com or visit www.arabsat.com