JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA — Thuraya Satellite Communications is reporting a surge in the use of its small satellite telephones from Afghanistan and the surrounding area by government officials, aid workers, journalists and others dealing with the war.

Yousuf Al Sayed, chief executive of Thuraya, based in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, said users inside Afghanistan were logging 120 hours per day in calls on Thuraya satellite phones. Many of these are for faxes, he said.

Thuraya, which operates a large satellite in geostationary orbit, started commercial service in July and now has 8,000 subscribers using the phones an average of three minutes per day. The company is licensed to operate in 25 nations in the Middle East and Central Asia and is looking forward to receiving a final license in Pakistan before the end of the year.

Al Sayed, in an interview here during the ITU Telecom Africa 2001 conference, organized by the United Nations-affiliated International Telecommunication Union, said Thuraya has shipped 20,000 phones to regional sales agents in licensed countries. It has received a total of 100,000 phones from its two manufacturers, Hughes Network Systems of the United States and Ascom of Switzerland.

Other nations showing strong uptake in use of the Thuraya service include Libya, Kazakhstan and Egypt, Al Sayed said. Thuraya expects to receive an operating license in Turkey, another big potential market, by January, Al Sayed said.