Arqiva signs managed service satcoms deal with Kuwait’s Gulfsat

Details: Vaughan O'Grady; Category: Satellite Networks; 19 October 2026; 278 views

Global media services provider Arqiva has announced what it calls a landmark agreement with Gulfsat, a leading Kuwaiti communications company and regional satellite operator.

The three-year agreement, which marking a significant expansion of Arqiva’s presence in the Middle East, will see Arqiva provide Gulfsat with a managed service encompassing fibre connectivity and the uplink of four Ku-band transponders from Arqiva’s Chalfont and Crawley teleports in the UK onto Eutelsat 8WB, a geostationary communications satellite operated by satellite connectivity company Eutelsat that boosts satellite broadcasting resources in the MENA region.

The solution delivers a fully managed, end-to-end uplink service, combining resilient global fibre connectivity, integrated infrastructure and 24/7 operations, while providing secure, geographically diverse, ex-region uplink services from outside the Middle East to strengthen business continuity, operational resilience and long-term service assurance for regional broadcasters and operators.

Arqiva says Gulfsat selected the company for its global connectivity, geographically diverse European uplink capability serving MENA beams, robust World Teleport Association (WTA) Tier-4-graded UK infrastructure, and strong reputation for operational excellence.

While the agreement meets Gulfsat’s immediate requirements, it also creates the potential for future collaboration across Arqiva’s expanding media services portfolio, including areas such as cloud playout, headend services, monetisation, streaming and CDN, as Mustafa Murad, CEO, Gulfsat explains, saying: “Arqiva’s reputation for operational excellence and robust infrastructure made them a natural partner as we expand our media services across the region. We were particularly impressed by the speed of execution, with the entire service stood up in just a few months…We look forward to building on this partnership and exploring new opportunities together in the future.”