ASC Signal Corporation was awarded a contract from Kuwait-based Al-Rashed Holdings to provide gateway satellite antennas and equipment for the State of Kuwait's Ministry of Information, to be used for the distribution of television and radio content throughout the Middle East and Africa.

Under the contract, ASC Signal will provide transmit and receive earth stations to access both Nilesat and Arabsat satellites.

The fully-redundant Ku- and DBS-band, 5.6-meter antennas include interchangeable feed systems that allow the Ministry of Information to use the same antenna at different frequency bands as required for program delivery. Installation of the ASC Signal antennas will equip the Ministry of Information to deliver content from its own facilities in Kuwait City.

In addition to the high-performance antenna system, Al-Rashed will provide ASC Signal's Next Generation Controller (NGC), which gives users a single, simplified, central device to control and operate multiple antenna systems.

The Ministry will capitalize on the many advanced features of the NGC, including utilizing the remote access and tracking capabilities built into the system, as well as the optional internal spectrum analyzer.

"As ASC Signal continues its rapid expansion into the Middle East, our new relationship with Al-Rashed and Kuwait's Ministry of Information marks an important milestone," said Keith Buckley, President and CEO of ASC Signal. "Our high-performance, competitively-priced antenna systems, along with the feature-rich NGC, opens many opportunities in this fast-growing region."

"Al-Rashed Holdings is delighted to award the contract for gateway antennas to ASC Signal," said Abdulaziz Al-Rashed, Chairman and CEO of Al-Rashed Holdings.

"This landmark project is of key strategic importance for Kuwait and the selection of ASC Signal reflects their extensive expertise in this area. Al-Rashed Holdings, as a leading local telecommunications and networking provider, looks forward to working with ASC Signal systems in successfully executing this contract and to future collaboration."