YAHSAT Selects Hughes Ka-Band Satellite Networking Solution and Operational Support System

GERMANTOWN, Maryland, March 15, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Hughes Networks Systems, LLC (HUGHES), the global leader in broadband satellite networks and services today announced that it has been awarded an initial contract valued at over US $27 million from Star Satellite Communications Company PJSC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Al Yah Satellite Communications Company PrJSC (Yahsat) based in the United Arab Emirates to provide its high performance, Ka-band HN broadband satellite system including gateway equipment and HN9200 and HN9400 terminals, with provisions for future expansion. The contract also calls for Hughes to deliver a complete OSS/BSS solution (Operational Support System and Back Office Support System) for the YahClick service.

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"This highly valued and strategically important contract further solidifies our leadership in Ka-band satellite technology and services globally," said Pradman Kaul, chairman and CEO of Hughes. "We eagerly look forward to implementing our comprehensive solution for Yahsat to help ensure its success, including our field-proven customer support systems and know-how."

YahClick is a next-generation, Ka-band service that will leverage the high-throughput capability of Yahsat Y1B satellite and the Hughes HN System solution to provide broadband Internet access and other applications to large and small enterprises, governments and consumers in the Middle East, Africa, and Southwest Asia. The service is expected to be launched in 2012.

"Partnering with Hughes will help Yahsat in fast tracking the rapid rollout of YahClick service in 27 countries during 2012," said Jassem Mohamed Al Zaabi, CEO of Yahsat. "YahClick will bring the Internet to millions of underserved and unserved people and organizations at costs comparable to terrestrial services."

Bahram Pourmand, executive vice president, International at Hughes said, "We are proud that Yahsat has put its trust in Hughes to help fulfill the requirements of this much sought-after contract."

Spearheading the industry's move to high-capacity Ka-band satellite systems, the Hughes HN9000 series of routers are designed to deliver the maximum performance on today's Ku- or Ka-band platforms, while being future-proof for next-generation, high-throughput systems. The HN9000 series platform is fully compliant with the highly successful IPoS/DVB-S2/ACM (Adaptive Coding and Modulation) industry standard, approved by ETSI, TIA and ITU. Incorporating advanced adaptive LDPC coding on the return channel, the router provides improved link performance, thereby enabling very efficient use of satellite capacity.

About Al Yah Satellite Communications Company - Yahsat (http://www.yahsat.ae)

Yahsat, the United Arab Emirates-based satellite communications company and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Mubadala Development Company (Mubadala), provides multi-purpose satellite communications services to commercial and governmental clients in the Middle East, Africa, Europe and South-West Asia. With a wide portfolio of voice, data, video and internet connectivity solutions, Yahsat satellites are designed based on market requirements and future applications. Yahsat is partnering with a consortium composed of EADS Astrium, Thales and Alenia Space to build a multi-purpose satellite communications system. The first satellite Y1A is currently being built and will be launched in the first quarter of 2011, and Y1B will follow in the second half of 2011.

Star Satellite Communications Company PrJSC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Al Yah Satellite Communications Company (Yahsat), is the commercial arm of the satellite business. Star leases Ka band (YahClick) and C band (YahLink) capacity to customers and enters services agreements with clients on behalf of Yahsat.

About Hughes Network Systems

Hughes Network Systems, LLC (Hughes) is the world's leading provider of satellite broadband for home and office, delivering innovative network technologies, managed services and solutions for enterprises and governments globally. HughesNet(R) is the #1 high-speed satellite Internet service in the marketplace, with offerings to suit every budget. To date, Hughes has shipped more than 2.5 million systems to customers in over 100 countries, representing over 50% market share. Its products employ global standards approved by TIA, ETSI and ITU organizations, including IPoS/DVB-S2, RSM-A, and GMR-1.

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

(c)2011 Hughes Network Systems, LLC. Hughes and HughesNet are registered trademarks of Hughes Network Systems, LLC.

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