Satellite communications firm Intelsat has opened a field office in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, pushing to 13 its number of customer service centers worldwide.

Intelsat UAE, as the office in Dubai is known, serves customers in North Africa in addition to those in the Persian Gulf region, including Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE. Samir El Battah, regional director of the Middle East & North Africa, heads the operations in Dubai and will respond directly to customer requests and inquiries for all Intelsat services.