Arqiva to handle Gulfsat satellite uplinks from UK

Arqiva will uplink four Ku band transponders for Kuwaiti operator Gulfsat from two UK teleports under a three year agreement.

The arrangement will see Arqiva provide managed fibre connectivity and satellite uplink services from its Chalfont and Crawley facilities onto Eutelsat 8WB, supporting broadcasters and operators across the Middle East and North Africa.

The service includes global fibre connectivity, integrated infrastructure and 24/7 technical operations, with the UK locations providing geographically separate transmission facilities outside the Middle East.

This arrangement is designed to improve business continuity and operational resilience for Gulfsat, which selected Arqiva partly because of its European infrastructure and ability to serve satellite beams covering the region.

Both UK teleports have received Tier 4 accreditation from the World Teleport Association, recognising their operational resilience, security and service assurance capabilities.

Gaurav Jandwani, Executive Director, Media and Broadcast at Arqiva, said: “It’s a model we’re ready to extend to operators and broadcasters across the Middle East and Africa.”

Mustafa Murad, CEO of Gulfsat, said: “We were particularly impressed by the speed of execution, with the entire service stood up in just a few months.”

The initial agreement also provides opportunities for the two companies to explore further cooperation involving cloud playout, headend services, streaming, content delivery networks and monetisation.

The contract represents a further expansion of Arqiva’s international media services operations, with its UK infrastructure now supporting additional satellite distribution requirements for the Middle East.