Thuraya Satellite Telecommunications Company, the leading mobile satellite telecommunications provider, has launched Thuraya e-Shop to sell Thuraya mobile phones and services online.

The e-commerce initiative, available through www.thuraya.com enables a visitor to purchase Thuraya phones and accessories, as well as to buy prepaid SIM cards and ‘scratch’ cards that can be used to replenish airtime. Providing the technology platform for the site is Vertscape Inc, the pioneer of web based application services in the GCC region. The integrated gateway for payment processing was provided by Comtrust, the e-business infrastructure unit of Etisalat, along with the National Bank of Abu Dhabi, a partner with Comtrust providing merchant banking accounts for e-commerce sites. The personal information of on-line users is further secured by Comtrust Server Certificate which provides the website with 128 bit encryption capability.

“We are very pleased to be launching eShop—our sales window to the world,” said Thuraya’s chairman Mohammad Omran. “There is a lot of interest in Thuraya and its products and services, from many countries-- and now our online site should enable anyone to buy our products in an easy and secure manner.”

“Right now we are launching e-Shop to sell prepaid services which provide both affordability and convenience. However our ultimate objective will be to offer our entire range of options, including post paid services, which will be introduced shortly as a second phase. Besides selling, Thuraya’s e-Shop makes it easy for people to explore Thuraya’s features and technology and to be able to troubleshoot, browse the phone manuals as well as obtain technical assistance,” he explained.

Vertscape’s Chairman Sheikh Khaled Bin Zayed Al Nahyan said: “Our Vertscape application was implemented for Thuraya within record time, in three days, using cutting edge XML technology.”

“The Vertscape platform is a highly robust and customizable e-business web infrastructure that enables Thuraya to manage its regional service providers and to sell direct to its end customers through Thuraya’s corporate website,” he added.

As part of the transactional framework, Thuraya e-commerce solution utilized the merchant banking services provided by National Bank of Abu Dhabi combined with Comtrust’s payment platform.

Speaking on behalf of National Bank of Abu Dhabi, Khamis Buharoon said: “National Bank of Abu Dhabi is a leading financial institution pioneering the growth of e-commerce initiatives in the UAE. We are proud to be partners with Thuraya in achieving its strategic marketing goals.”

“Our payment integration solution, the only commercialized Store Payment Interface (SPI), provides Thuraya a high-level interface for secure communication between an Internet Merchant’s Server and Comtrust Payment System,” said Omran Sultan Al Owais, General Manager, Comtrust.

“Thuraya is one of the first companies to utilize our new SPI product, which facilitates easy and rapid implementation of payment service through an indigenously developed application. Integration with Thuraya e-Shop was completed in just 3 days from conceptualizing the requirement to integrating the website to the Comtrust payment gateway and launching the online site”, added Al Owais.