Thuraya-2 and 3 are among the first satellites in the Boeing GEM series. This product line expands Boeing's offerings beyond satellite manufacturing, to integrate a high-power geosynchronous satellite with a ground segment and user handsets, to provide a range of cellular-like voice and data services over a large geographic region. The Thuraya ground segment includes terrestrial gateways plus a collocated network operations center and satellite control facility in the UAE.

Thuraya offers GSM-compatible mobile telephone services, transmitting and receiving calls through a single 12.25 meter-aperture reflector. The satellite employs state-of-the-art on-board digital signal processing to create more than 200 spot beams that can be redirected on-orbit, allowing the Thuraya system to adapt to business demands in real time. Calls are routed directly from one handheld unit to another, or to a terrestrial network. The system has the capacity for 13,750 simultaneous voice circuits.

Thuraya 2 and 3 have redesigned solar arrays, as the original concentrator arrays have a fogging problem reducing the performance.