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stc Group Signs Strategic Deal with TONOMUS for LEO Satellite Capacity in Saudi Arabia

stc group logo
stc group logo
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stc Group Signs Strategic Deal with TONOMUS for LEO Satellite Capacity in Saudi Arabia

stc group logo
stc group logo

TONOMUS – NEOM's cognitive technology and digital infrastructure subsidiary – announced the signing of a multi-year agreement with stc group, an engine of digital transformation, to acquire from TONOMUS Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite connectivity capacity in Saudi Arabia.

Unveiled at FII in Riyadh, the newly announced agreement will grant stc group unprecedented access to LEO satellite capacity and empower the company to offer high-speed broadband internet and data services, as well as business continuity solutions to government institutions, large enterprises and SMEs across Saudi Arabia.

stc group's acquisition is a significant milestone for the connectivity landscape in the country, given their emphasis on enhancing and offering optimized connectivity services for customers in crucial industries like oil and gas, mining, agritech, health, education and finance.

The collaboration between TONOMUS and stc group is a testament to the accelerating demand for affordable, fast, high-bandwidth and low-latency connectivity across the region. It will enable the provision of fiber-like internet access to residents of rural and remote areas, ultimately facilitating an enhanced and seamless online experience.

TONOMUS' agreement with stc group will strengthen Saudi Arabia's digital transformation through strong collaboration with local infrastructure and service providers. It will also help usher in a transition to broad participation in the digital ecosystem as a platform for scalability, innovation and availability for all government and business sectors.

Scott Gegenheimer, President of Infrastructure, TONOMUS, said: "The acquisition of LEO satellite network capacity by stc group corresponds with TONOMUS' vision for a more connected, inclusive and prosperous Saudi Arabia. We see stc group as an ideal partner to extend coverage in the region and help us realize this vision. The agreement between our two companies will facilitate the provision of rapid and reliable connectivity to transform businesses and the lives of communities, while empowering NEOM's groundbreaking ecosystem of cognitive technologies that we are developing at TONOMUS."

Riyadh Muawad, GCBO, stc group, said, "stc is committed to lead in the ICT and digital transformation in the region. Our contract with TONOMUS is a major milestone that will enable us to offer high-speed, low-latency satellite internet and data services to customers in crucial industries. This will help bridge the digital divide in remote areas and communities, benefitting government sectors and businesses. We are proud to partner with TONOMUS and contribute to the country's digital ecosystem."

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One Tech Tip: Here's What You Need to Do Before and After Your Phone is Stolen or Lost

FILE - The iPhone 15 Pro is shown after its introduction on the Apple campus, Sept. 12, 2023, in Cupertino, Calif. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File)
FILE - The iPhone 15 Pro is shown after its introduction on the Apple campus, Sept. 12, 2023, in Cupertino, Calif. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File)
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One Tech Tip: Here's What You Need to Do Before and After Your Phone is Stolen or Lost

FILE - The iPhone 15 Pro is shown after its introduction on the Apple campus, Sept. 12, 2023, in Cupertino, Calif. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File)
FILE - The iPhone 15 Pro is shown after its introduction on the Apple campus, Sept. 12, 2023, in Cupertino, Calif. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, File)

Phones hold so much of our digital lives — emails, social media and bank accounts, photos, chat messages and more — that if they ever get stolen or go missing, it can cause major disruption beyond just the loss of a device.
In some places, phone thefts have surged so much it's now an everyday problem, with thieves on electric bikes snatching them out of pedestrians' hands, swiping them off restaurant tables or pickpocketing them on the subway, The Associated Press said.
In Britain, where 200 phones are stolen every day in “snatch thefts,” the government has pledged to crack down on the crime and is meeting with tech companies and device makers to come up with solutions.
Here are steps you can take before and after your phone goes missing:
Basic protections There are things you can do to make it less painful if your phone is stolen. Because some of these features are more technical in nature, people often overlook them.
Lock down as much as you can. At a minimum, require a password or biometric scan to unlock the device. You can also add similar requirements to important individual apps — like your banking account, WhatsApp or Signal — to protect your finance or chats from thieves.
Also, activate the find my device feature, which is available for both iOS and Android. Samsung also offers its own service called SmartThings Find.
You'll probably have lots of precious photos saved on your camera roll. It's a good idea to back them up, along with contacts, calendar items and other files. Google and Apple offer cloud-based backup services, although the free versions have limited storage space. You can also back up your files to an external hard drive, memory card or a laptop.
Some police forces and phone companies advise turning off message previews, which prevents thieves trying to break into your accounts from seeing reset or login codes when the phone is locked. To do this on an iPhone, for example, go to the notifications section of your settings menu, and tap Show Previews.
Turn on newer features Recent iOS and Android updates include a number of new functions designed to make thefts less attractive.
IPhone users can turn on Stolen Device Protection, which makes it a lot harder for phone thieves to access key functions and settings. Many thieves will want to wipe the data off and reset so they can resell it, but with this feature on, they'll need a face or fingerprint scan to do so. Apple also recently updated its “ activation lock ” feature to make it harder for thieves to sell parts from stolen phones.
Android phones, meanwhile, can now use artificial intelligence to detect motion indicating someone snatched it out of your hand and is racing away on foot or a bike, and then lock the screen immediately. And there's a feature called Private Spaces that lets you hide sensitive files on your phone.
Jot down your device number Take note of your phone's serial number, also known as an IMEI number. It can link you to the phone if it does eventually get recovered. Call it up by typing (asterisk)#06# on your phone's keypad. If you’ve already lost your phone you can also find it in other places like the box it came in.
If its stolen If you're unlucky enough to have your phone stolen, notify police. Call your insurance company if you have a policy that covers the device. Inform your phone company so they can freeze your number and issue a replacement sim card or esim. Notify your bank so they can watch out for suspicious transactions.
Tracking your device Try to locate your phone with find my device feature. For iPhones, go to iCloud.com/find from a web browser while Android users should head to www.google.com/android/find. Samsung also has its own service for Galaxy phones.
These services will show your phone's current or last known location on a map, which is also handy if you’ve just lost track of it somewhere in the house. Apple says even if a phone can't connect to the internet or has been turned off, it can use Bluetooth to ping any nearby Apple devices using the same network behind its AirTags tracking devices. Google says newer Pixel phones can be located “for several hours” after they've been turned off using similar technology.
You can get the phone to play a sound, even if it’s on silent. You can also put the phone in lost mode, which locks it and will display a message and contact details on the screen for anyone who finds it. Lost mode on iOS also suspends any Apple Pay cards and passes.
If the device shows up in an unfamiliar location on the map, and you suspect it has been stolen, experts say it's better to notify police rather than trying to get it back yourself.
Cybersecurity company Norton says, “Confronting a thief yourself is not recommended."
Final steps If you can’t find your phone, there are some final steps to take.
Log yourself out of all your accounts that might be accessible on the phone, and then remove it from your list of trusted devices that you use to get multi factor authentication codes — but make sure you can get those codes somewhere else, such as email.
Then, as a last resort, you can erase the phone remotely so that there's no chance of any data falling into the wrong hands. However, take note: Apple says that if the iPhone is offline, the remote erase will only happen the next time it comes back online. But if you find the phone before it gets erased, you can cancel the request.
Google warns that SD memory cards plugged into Android phones might not be remotely erased. And after the phone has been wiped, it won't show up on the Find My Device feature.