Yahsat, Hughes finalize broadband joint venture

Yahsat has completed its joint venture agreement with Hughes to provide commercial Ka-band satellite broadband services across Africa, the Middle East, and Southwest Asia. The venture, which was announced in September 2018, has obtained all necessary regulatory and other approvals. To be known as YahClick (powered by Hughes), the service will be available to customers immediately. The two companies will continue to provide unserved and underserved communities with reliable, high-speed Internet services via Yahsat’s Al Yah 2 and Al Yah 3 Ka-band satellites, while utilizing the capabilities of the Hughes’ innovative systems, designed and optimized for large scale High-Throughput Satellites.

Yahsat, which is owned by the Mubadala Investment Company, would draw on its position as a leading provider of satellite broadband solutions in Africa, Middle East, and Southwest Asia and combine it with Hughes’ expertise as a global leader in broadband satellite networks and services. The company’s board of directors consists of three members from Yahsat and two members from Hughes, Masood M. Sharif Mahmood, Chief Executive Officer (Yahsat) will serve as the chairman of the board and Pradman Kaul, President and Chief Executive Officer (Hughes) will serve as a board director.

The joint venture will provide direct-to-premise services to homes and small to medium-sized enterprises, and to community centers and schools that are served under local government programs across the focus regions. The agreement also offers community hotspot solutions to make satellite-enabled broadband more accessible to many more users across Yahsat’s global footprint, which today covers more than one billion people. Further, the agreement enhances the trend within the mobile network operator community to benefit from the efficiencies provided by Ka-band-based backhaul and carrier solutions.