SES Astra entered into a partnership with the Arab satellite operator Al Yah Satellite Communications Company (Yahsat) to create a new company operating under the YahLive brand that will offer direct-to-home (DTH) TV capacity and services to more than two dozen countries in the Middle East, North Africa and South West Asia. YahLive will offer DTH satellite services to free-to-air and pay-TV broadcasters in this region. It will own and commercialise 23 BSS-transponders on the Yahsat 1A spacecraft to be positioned at the 52.5 degrees East orbital position and operating in the Ku-band frequency. The satellite, procured from a consortium of EADS Astrium and Thales Alenia Space, is currently under construction and is scheduled to be launched by the fourth quarter of 2010. Yahsat is a private joint stock company based in Abu Dhabi in the UAE and owned by Mubadala, the investment arm of the government of Abu Dhabi.
