Saudi national company SCIT Group and its technology subsidiary SKYFive Arabia are preparing to flip the proverbial switch on a nationwide air-to-ground (A2G) network in Saudi Arabia to support inflight connectivity in the Kingdom.

When the A2G network goes live, it will mark a significant milestone for SCIT (Space Communications for Information Technology), an infrastructure investment house which was founded in 2022 by a group of experienced investors and entrepreneurs dedicated to transforming the future of space, end-to-end security and aviation through advanced communications, information and emerging technologies.

In February 2025, SCIT entered a groundbreaking partnership with Saudi Arabia’s telecom regulator, the Communications, Space and Technology Commission (CST) to invest $100 million over a three-year period in a bid to revolutionize A2G communications in the Kingdom and beyond.

The initiative is being executed through SKYFive Arabia, which represents a partnership between SCIT and Germany’s SkyFive AG, and aims to be the first regional provider of broadband inflight connectivity to use A2G technology in the Middle East, Turkey and Africa.

Runway Girl Network sat down with Mohamed K. AbdelRehim, who serves as CEO of both SCIT and SKYFive Arabia, to learn more about their three-year journey to bring A2G-powered inflight connectivity to Saudi Arabia and the wider Middle Eastern region, and their unique approach to the aviation market.

With over 28 years of executive leadership and diverse cultural and technical experience across Europe, Latin America, and the MEA region, AbdelRehim is known for launching global initiatives and generating over €500 million in strategic commercial deals. Prior to SCIT, he held senior roles at Nokia Networks, Siemens AG and Vodafone. He is also a strong advocate of the European innovation ecosystem, mainly the Finnish, works closely with Business Finland, and European Union bodies to build global partnerships.

Why A2G makes sense in Saudi Arabia and the wider Middle East

Obtaining opt-in from CST, which manages and allocates spectrum rights in the Kingdom, was crucial to advancing SCIT’s goal of revolutionizing A2G-based inflight connectivity in Saudi Arabia via SKYFive Arabia, AbdelRehim noted. Indeed, that’s “the key” to bringing A2G technology to any region.

Having a dedicated A2G network in Saudi Arabia also makes sense given the vast expanse of the country, he said, and the fact that when traveling within the Middle East and Africa, airtime traffic is 2.5 hours to three hours over Saudi Arabia alone.

Thirdly, the sheer volume of aircraft serving the broader region – Turkey, Egypt and the UAE, with Saudi Arabia in the middle – create a significant opportunity, with Cairo-Jeddah and Abu Dhabi-Riyadh being two of the five most congested routes worldwide.

“Saudi Arabia has 28 airports. The UAE have more than 700 aircraft. So, looking at the traffic, looking at the destination where, you know, Turkey is the glue between Europe and here, this is the area” that made sense to focus on scaling because “we have the network, the political aspects, the investments” and are in alignment with Saudi Arabia’s broader Vision 2030 goal of fostering innovation and economic growth.

Also of note: aircraft fitted with hardware capable of transmitting via the European Aviation Network — Europe’s hybrid air-to-ground/S-band satellite network — could soon roam into the A2G network in Saudi Arabia and, likewise, A2G-fitted aircraft in the Kingdom could roam into the EAN under an agreement inked last year between Viasat and SkyFive AG.

Unlike satcom players in the region, SKYFive Arabia is wholly dedicated to aviation. Its bandwidth isn’t being shared with any other vertical, such as residential, maritime, government and defense.

“Aviation is the one and only, the king on the seat. It is my only customer,” AbdelRehim told RGN, and as such, SKYFive Arabia is committing to provide 108 Mbps per aircraft to airlines.

A “risk free” proposition for airlines

Another distinctive feature of SKYFive’s offer is that it’s offering two propositions to airlines: it can provide its inflight Wi-Fi service directly to airline passengers or offer the service to airlines under a B2B paradigm whereby the airlines can sell it to their passengers based on whatever commercial model they favor.

The beauty of the former model is that it is “risk free,” explained AbdelRehim. “We’ve taken a very aggressive commercial model where we’re going to the airlines and say, ‘look, guys, don’t worry about anything. I’ll take everything on us. I’ll put the equipment on, the software and everything.’ This unlocks the situation in comparison to the normal, legacy satellite service providers, where you have to actually equip every aircraft… pay for the hardware, [and] pay for the connectivity.”

“I changed the complete business model,” he continued. “The airline gives us the access to the passenger, and then they get a cut of our revenues, simple as that. So, if I do $100 million, they get X percent. If I do $1 million, they get X percent.”

As to the cost of the service for passengers, AbdelRehim’s team has been collecting valuable information from different airlines. Tier 1 carriers are less sensitive to what the pricing tiers might look like, but low-cost, all-economy carriers are very sensitive so they may opt to bundle the Internet as part of a package to generate more seat sales, akin to how extra baggage is bundled in offers today.

Overall, however, AbdelRehim observes a strong willingness amongst passengers in Saudi Arabia to pay more to stay connected in flight. And airlines increasingly see the benefit of using connectivity for operational benefits. He cited a use case whereby airlines could facilitate the real-time, inflight sale of Duty Free items, but allow passengers to collect their items immediately on deplaning rather than carry the retail goods on board.

The A2G technology is fully mature. That’s because the hybrid European Aviation Network, which is operated by Viasat (formerly Inmarsat) and Deutsche Telekom and available across 41 countries, is powered by SkyFive AG’s A2G technology. In 2019, SkyFive acquired Nokia’s air-to-ground assets, after Nokia served as a key technology partner on the EAN. SkyFive continues to support the EAN, but it has commercialized its own A2G-focused solution for airlines including via the SKYFive Arabia partnership in the MEA region.

SkyFive is also progressing in its work to make A2G-powered IFC available in India, with the firm announcing hiring plans in Delhi last month. And earlier this year, at the Aircraft Interiors Expo in Hamburg, SkyFive said it would establish an A2G network in Kazakhstan. The SKYFive Arabia partnership with SCIT, meanwhile, is also presently advancing work to support A2G-powered inflight connectivity in Egypt.

Several aircraft in Saudi Arabia have already been fitted with the A2G solution being offered through SKYFive Arabia, and software testing is underway. Pending requisite approvals, including with security agencies that will check the technology’s lawful interception capabilities, the inflight connectivity service will go live, and will likely be initially offered on a complimentary basis to passengers, helping to inform and shape the value proposition and pricing.

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Featured image credited to SCIT