Users of the UAE’s e& network could soon connect to satellite internet using their mobile phones and devices such as laptops and televisions.
The connectivity is being made possible because of an agreement between Abu Dhabi’s space technology company Space42 and e& that would bring the 5G network to users using satellites.
The agreement also comes about a month after internet coverage in the UAE was disrupted due to cables in the Red Sea being severed, which highlighted how hybrid systems that include satellite internet could offer more back-up options.
Satellite internet technology has gained momentum over the years as companies such as SpaceX and Amazon invest billions into it to give users an alternative to traditional fibre and telecom tower systems and bring connectivity to remote areas.
An agreement was signed on Tuesday at Gitex Global 2025, the technology exhibition being held in Dubai until Friday. Ali Al Hashemi, chief executive of space services at Space42, told The National that all e& users can connect to Viasat, which will enable global direct-to-device services by uniting satellite and terrestrial networks.
“The service will allow standard smartphones and IoT devices to connect directly to satellites,” he said. “While this will be especially beneficial in remote areas such as deserts, mountains and offshore environments, the broader goal is universal coverage, ensuring consistent connectivity across terrains.”
The Equatys venture was announced last month and The National reported that the plan is for it to be operational by the end of 2028. e& customers could also stay connected even where mobile networks traditionally struggle, such as deep in the desert or on ships out at sea.
Other international operators have struck similar partnerships, such as that between the US’s T-Mobile and SpaceX’s Starlink. T-Mobile launched a satellite-to-mobile network that provides connectivity to its users, including the ability to connect to apps and send and receive messages in places carrier towers do not reach.
The US firm AST SpaceMobile is building a cellular network in space that recently enabled a 4G voice call and 5G data session from space to a mobile phone. Space42 said Equatys will differentiate itself by acting as a shared satellite network for telecom operators, similar to how ground-based mobile tower companies serve multiple carriers.
Instead of each operator building its own satellites, Equatys will offer coverage in space that e& can integrate into its existing network. This shared model is intended to reduce infrastructure cost and speed up deployment across multiple countries.
Masood M Sharif Mahmood, chief executive of e& UAE, said satellite-to-phone connectivity would strengthen the company’s long-term network strategy. “Direct-to-device over 5G NTN [Non-Terrestrial Networks] is a natural extension of our network strategy,” he said. “By exploring Equatys with Space42 and Viasat, we’re validating seamless handover between terrestrial 5G and satellites on standard smartphones and IoT devices.”
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
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Sunday, January 20
3pm: Jordan v Vietnam at Al Maktoum Stadium, Dubai
6pm: Thailand v China at Hazza bin Zayed Stadium, Al Ain
9pm: Iran v Oman at Mohamed bin Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Monday, January 21
3pm: Japan v Saudi Arabia at Sharjah Stadium
6pm: Australia v Uzbekistan at Khalifa bin Zayed Stadium, Al Ain
9pm: UAE v Kyrgyzstan at Zayed Sports City Stadium, Abu Dhabi
Tuesday, January 22
5pm: South Korea v Bahrain at Rashid Stadium, Dubai
8pm: Qatar v Iraq at Al Nahyan Stadium, Abu Dhabi
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Navdeep Suri, India's Ambassador to the UAE
There has been a longstanding need from the Indian community to have a religious premises where they can practise their beliefs. Currently there is a very, very small temple in Bur Dubai and the community has outgrown this. So this will be a major temple and open to all denominations and a place should reflect India’s diversity.
It fits so well into the UAE’s own commitment to tolerance and pluralism and coming in the year of tolerance gives it that extra dimension.
What we will see on April 20 is the foundation ceremony and we expect a pretty broad cross section of the Indian community to be present, both from the UAE and abroad. The Hindu group that is building the temple will have their holiest leader attending – and we expect very senior representation from the leadership of the UAE.
When the designs were taken to the leadership, there were two clear options. There was a New Jersey model with a rectangular structure with the temple recessed inside so it was not too visible from the outside and another was the Neasden temple in London with the spires in its classical shape. And they said: look we said we wanted a temple so it should look like a temple. So this should be a classical style temple in all its glory.
It is beautifully located - 30 minutes outside of Abu Dhabi and barely 45 minutes to Dubai so it serves the needs of both communities.
This is going to be the big temple where I expect people to come from across the country at major festivals and occasions.
It is hugely important – it will take a couple of years to complete given the scale. It is going to be remarkable and will contribute something not just to the landscape in terms of visual architecture but also to the ethos. Here will be a real representation of UAE’s pluralism.
Founders: Abdulmajeed Alsukhan, Turki Bin Zarah and Abdulmohsen Albabtain.
Based: Riyadh
Offices: UAE, Vietnam and Germany
Founded: September, 2020
Number of employees: 70
Sector: FinTech, online payment solutions
Funding to date: $116m in two funding rounds
Investors: Checkout.com, Impact46, Vision Ventures, Wealth Well, Seedra, Khwarizmi, Hala Ventures, Nama Ventures and family offices
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Earth under attack: Cosmic impacts throughout history
- 4.5 billion years ago: Mars-sized object smashes into the newly-formed Earth, creating debris that coalesces to form the Moon
- 66 million years ago: 10km-wide asteroid crashes into the Gulf of Mexico, wiping out over 70 per cent of living species – including the dinosaurs.
- 50,000 years ago: 50m-wide iron meteor crashes in Arizona with the violence of 10 megatonne hydrogen bomb, creating the famous 1.2km-wide Barringer Crater
- 1490: Meteor storm over Shansi Province, north-east China when large stones “fell like rain”, reportedly leading to thousands of deaths.
- 1908: 100-metre meteor from the Taurid Complex explodes near the Tunguska river in Siberia with the force of 1,000 Hiroshima-type bombs, devastating 2,000 square kilometres of forest.
- 1998: Comet Shoemaker-Levy 9 breaks apart and crashes into Jupiter in series of impacts that would have annihilated life on Earth.
-2013: 10,000-tonne meteor burns up over the southern Urals region of Russia, releasing a pressure blast and flash that left over 1600 people injured.
Timeline
2012-2015
The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East
May 2017
The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts
September 2021
Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act
October 2021
Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence
December 2024
Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group
May 2025
The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan
July 2025
The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan
August 2025
Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
October 2025
Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange
November 2025
180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE
