Barrett Xplore Inc. and Hughes Sign Landmark Agreement for High-Throughput Satellite Capacity over Canada

October 28, 2009 7:00 AM EDT

GERMANTOWN, Md., Oct. 28 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Hughes Network Systems, LLC (HUGHES), the global leader in broadband satellite networks and services, today announced that Barrett Xplore Inc., Canada's largest rural broadband provider, has committed to acquire and operate over 10 Gbps of capacity on Jupiter, a next-generation, high-throughput satellite from Hughes. Jupiter is designed with more than 100 Gbps of capacity, representing a tenfold increase over existing satellites, and is scheduled for launch in 2012. The agreement is valued in excess of U.S. $100 million.

"Jupiter will enable Barrett Xplore to provide significantly enhanced service offerings to our current customers, and offer additional capacity to serve hundreds of thousands of rural Canadian households," said John Maduri, CEO at Barrett Xplore. "This considerable investment in satellite capacity demonstrates Barrett's ongoing commitment to rural broadband and strengthens our ability to reach all rural Canadian households with cost-effective, high-speed Internet."

Barrett Xplore will be able to provide customers with unparalleled speeds and bandwidth, offering a range of packages of up to 10 Mbps for residential service and up to 25 Mbps for business, with performance and pricing comparable to that in terrestrial broadband markets.

Employing a multi-spot beam, highly efficient, Ka-band architecture, Jupiter will utilize an enhanced version of the IPoS standard, the world's leading broadband satellite standard approved by ETSI, TIA, and ITU standards organizations. Its high-throughput capabilities will augment the successful SPACEWAY(®) 3 satellite system from Hughes, the largest and most advanced satellite currently operating in North America, further reinforcing the company's leadership in delivering HughesNet(®) broadband-by-satellite services to consumers, businesses, and governments across the U.S. Barrett Xplore also uses SPACEWAY 3 today to serve the rural Canadian market.

"We are delighted to continue our successful business relationship with Barrett Xplore in a collaboration that will bring the very latest satellite broadband technology and services to the Canadian market," said Mike Cook, senior vice president, Hughes. "By using Jupiter, Barrett Xplore will be able to deliver the same kind of exciting, high-speed satellite services to Canadians that Hughes intends to bring to subscribers across the U.S., including those living in areas unserved or underserved by terrestrial broadband."

About Barrett Xplore Inc.

Headquartered in Woodstock, New Brunswick, Barrett Xplore Inc. operates Xplornet Internet Services, Canada's largest rural broadband provider, with customers and dealers in every province and territory. Barrett Xplore aims to bridge the urban/rural digital divide by ensuring that every Canadian, regardless of where they live, has access to broadband, thereby enabling them to compete effectively in the global economy and gain access to essential government and educational services. For additional information, please go to www.xplornet.com.

About Hughes Network Systems

Hughes Network Systems, LLC (HUGHES) is the global leader in providing broadband satellite networks and services for large enterprises, governments, small businesses, and consumers. HughesNet( )encompasses all broadband solutions and managed services from Hughes, bridging the best of satellite and terrestrial technologies. Its broadband satellite products are based on global standards approved by the TIA, ETSI and ITU standards organizations, including IPoS/DVB-S2, RSM-A, and GMR-1. To date, Hughes has shipped more than 1.9 million systems to customers in over 100 countries.

Headquartered outside Washington, D.C., in Germantown, Maryland, USA, Hughes maintains sales and support offices worldwide. Hughes is a wholly owned subsidiary of Hughes Communications, Inc. (Nasdaq: HUGH). For additional information, please visit www.hughes.com.

Hughes, HughesNet, and SPACEWAY are registered trademarks of Hughes Network Systems, LLC.

SOURCE Hughes Network Systems, LLC

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