On August 4 Egyptian company Nilesat, a leading satellite operator in the Middle East, North Africa and the Gulf, launched the Nilesat 201. The new satellite will transmit 300 additional television channels and bring HDTV and 3D television to the region, as well as carrying IPTV and broadband services.
The Nilesat 201 will allow hundreds of new media channels to be delivered to 40 million households in the region, adding to the existing 560 TV and 100 radio channels already available. Wide coverage is ensured as a result of uplink stations in Cairo, Dubai, Amman, Doha, Riyadh, and Beirut.
Anas El Fekky, Egyptian Minister of Media, said, This new satellite offers a tremendous opportunity to increase the availability on broadcasting and communications services in Egypt. We Egyptians are already proud to have one of the most diverse and vibrant media landscapes in the region, with over 500 independent newspapers, magazines and journals in the printed press alone. The Nilesat 201 will help us to bring even more choice and quality of media to the Egyptian people. This step is important as it shows Egypts ability and desire to lead the entire region in media, as it does in other fields such as information technology, encompassing all new tools of globalisation and communications. Egypt will continue to play a pioneer role to propel the region to greater heights of modernity.
General Ahmed Anis, CEO of Nilesat, added: Nilesat 201 will make a significant contribution to boosting the development of the dynamic broadcasting markets in the Middle East and North Africa.
The Nilesat 201 is the third satellite to be owned by Nilesat and was developed in response to the huge demand and market growth of TV channels in the MENA region. The project cost around US$237m and the satellite has a design life of around 15 years. The Nilesat 201 is launched from Korou, French Guyana, by the Ariane space launcher and was manufactured by French company Thales Alenia Space.