Thuraya was founded in the UAE in 1997 by a consortium of leading national telecommunications operators and international investment houses. The turnkey project was initially built by US satellite manufacturer Boeing Satellite Systems formerly known as Hughes.

Through partnership with leading national telecom and mobile communications companies, Thuraya provides blanket-to-blanket coverage to more than 110 countries in Europe, North, Central Africa and large parts of Southern Africa, the Middle East, Central and South Asia. By year end 2006, Thuraya had three satellites in orbit, offering mobile telephone services to nearly one third of the global demand.

Thuraya offers satellite, cellular (GSM) service and location determination system (GPS) through handsets which offer voice, data, fax and short messaging services. The Primary Gateway in Sharjah, UAE, serves the entire Thuraya coverage area and plans are underway to establish additional national gateways at other locations as necessary.

With the dawn of the new year of 2007, Thuraya paired up with several companies in order to expand their country coverage. In January 2007, Thuraya signed a commercial partnership with SatCom to increase their presence in Zambia. And carrying on with their African expansion, Thuraya signed a tie-up agreement with Canar Telecommunications Company and became Thuraya's new service provider in Sudan in Februaury in the same year.