Beam Communications, a subsidiary of World Reach, has designed, developed and made what is claimed to be the world's first satellite and LTE Wi-Fi hotspot under an OEM arrangement with Dubai's Thuraya Telecommunications.
The new terminal was launched at its partner conference in Dubai last month.
Users can access satellite Internet at up to 384Kbps and LTE speeds when used in cellular mode which is automatically selected when that mode is available.
Beam president Michael Capocchi said: “This is an exciting new product, the first Hotspot to offer the embedded dual mode functionality, and it’s a demonstration of Beam’s continuous focus on innovation."
A dedicated Thuraya WE App has also been created for both iOS and Android devices to easily access voice calls and SMS services, along with the use of all applications on a smartphone, tablet or desktop.
This includes full support for iMessage, Skype, WhatsApp, Viber, YouTube, WeChat, email services and any other Internet-accessible content for up to 10 users simultaneously via Wi-Fi.
The terminal will also allow for roaming by Thuraya customers, from satellite to terrestrial LTE services via either a Thuraya SIM card or a standard GSM SIM card.
Thuraya has agreements with more than 395 GSM cellular roaming partners in the Middle East, Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia.
“The timely delivery of the Thuraya WE is a great achievement and demonstrates Beam’s focus on technology development while fulfilling the growing needs of major satellite operators and customers.” said Davide Carpegna, vice-president of product and business development at Beam.
Early units for demonstrations and marketing activities will be available soon and commercial units are expected to be available in the second half of 2017.
Source: https://www.itwire.com/business-technology/78091-beam-develops-satellite-and-lte-wi-fi-hotspot.html