Noorsat, a new entrant on the Middle East satellite communications landscape, is expecting strong growth in the satellite broadcast market. The company predicts the number of television channels broadcasting to the Middle East region to double in the next five years. Noorsat will use capacity on two Eutelsat satellites, which will be practically co-located at the Middle Eastern hotspots of 7 degrees West and 26 degrees East to cater to the demand.

“I expect demand for satellite bandwidth to grow exponentially throughout the next two to five years with demand being driven by television broadcasters,” Noorsat CEO Omar Shoter said. “There will also be increased demand from ISPs [Internet service providers], telecom operators and data companies, although non-video growth will only account for around 20 percent of satellite bandwidth capacity.”