YahSat announces satellite broadband growth

United Arab Emirates (UAE)-based satellite operator YahSat has signed up some 30,000 users to its broadband service, up from 20,000 at the start of the year. The YahSat service is available in 14 countries across the Middle East, Africa, and central and south-west Asia, and is currently being expanded to an additional 14 countries under its current footprint, the National reports. The firm, which is finalising the contract to manufacture its third satellite platform, says around two-thirds of its users are in Africa. The planned Yah 3 platform, which is scheduled for launch in late-2016, will add another 17 countries to the firm’s international coverage, with the expansion taking in parts of Africa and Latin America.