ARABSAT, Thuraya, YahLive and SES were recognised for their outstanding contribution to the region’s satellite industry at the first SatellitePro ME awards held as part of the annual BroadcastPro Summit and Awards on November 12 2012.
With a strong contingent representing the regional satellite industry among the 300 professionals attending the awards ceremony, the region’s operators were lauded for their pioneering contributions in areas ranging from offering cost-effective access to smaller broadcasters and pioneering HDTV to supporting journalists on the move.
The winners and their citations are as follows:
Leading MENA Satellite Operator: ARABSAT
They have just deployed the HBBTV solution in the region demonstrating agility and a penchant to experiment that you wouldn’t typically associate with a company that was established in 1976, by 21 governments. From its initiatives with regional organisations for the telecast of the 2012 Olympics, to the latest inclusion of the Mauritania bouquet, the company has demonstrated a leadership role that has admirably balanced its commercial and social mandate to ensure access to information for the larger Arab population across the MENA region. Lastly, the company displays vision for the region through its leadership role in critical satellite interference issues and the implementation of carrier ID.
Satellite Communications Player of the Year: Thuraya
As viewers demand to watch news as it unfolds, journalists and the camera crew are increasingly putting their lives at risk. Thuraya, the UAE-based mobile service provider has worked concertedly towards ensuring the security of their network and therefore the user. Veteran journalists will vouch for their system when the situation in Libya or Syria left them with no wireless networks. For journalists reporting from remote areas and conflict zones, Thuraya’s mobile terminal was also a useful tool for journalists to check news wires over the terminal’s WLAN connection before live broadcasts.
Outstanding HDTV Achievers : YahLive & SES
They began with a mandate to fundamentally drive the regional broadcast industry in a bold, new, high definition direction. Since late 2011 to the present day, they have more than 50 premium HD channels in their bouquet. Their high-powered satellite allows the end-user to deploy a small 45-60cm easy-to-install dish to receive the latest movies, programmes and live events in HD. The three satellite beams cover the Middle East and North Africa, Europe and South West Asia regions. As outstanding HDTV achievers for 2012, we recognise the unique collaboration between SES and YahLive.
Interviews with winners and a photo-tour of the summit and awards will follow shortly.
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