Hughes Introduces Broadband Backup Service to Help Small and Medium-Sized Businesses Stay Connected When Disaster Strikes

October 01, 2008

New HughesNet^® Plans Protect SMBs from Landline Outages and Offer a Truly Diverse Broadband Solution

Germantown, Md., October 1, 2008 — Hughes Network Systems, LLC (HUGHES), the global leader in broadband satellite networks and services, today announced the availability of HughesNet Broadband Backup service plans, the newest offerings for small- and medium-sized businesses that provide automatic satellite backup in the event of a landline failure. With HughesNet Broadband Backup, SMBs can be secure in knowing their critical applications will remain online in the event of a landline failure, protecting them against loss of data or revenue.

According to a 2008 AT&T Business Continuity Study, one in five businesses does not have a business continuity plan developed, and many are inadequately prepared for network outages and disasters. Additionally, for the third year in a row, the national survey finds that nearly 30 percent of U.S. businesses do not consider business continuity planning a priority.¹

“The best time to respond to a disaster or any outage is before it happens,” said Sam Baumel, assistant vice president at Hughes. “A relatively small investment of time and money now, especially with hurricane season in full swing, may make the difference in a business staying in business, and not losing its private network or Internet connectivity when it occurs.”

Two types of HughesNet Broadband Backup plans are available, depending on the type of primary landline service — Internet access or private network. For Internet-based backup, data rates are up to 1 Mbps/uplink and up to 5 Mbps/downlink; for private network-based backup, data rates are up to 2 Mbps/uplink and up to 8 Mbps/downlink. HughesNet Broadband Backup services can also be configured to offload network traffic in a load balancing configuration, thereby alleviating network congestion and postponing upgrades. In addition, a number of field maintenance options are available including same-day service.

HughesNet Broadband Backup service plans are made possible by the advanced satellite technology of SPACEWAY™ 3, the world’s first commercial satellite with on-board switching and routing. Optimized for data networking, SPACEWAY 3 has 5 to 8 times the capacity of current generation satellites, which fuels faster speeds and enables efficient processing of high volume traffic. SPACEWAY 3 began serving customers in April, 2008.

HughesNet Broadband Backup services are available directly from Hughes and through its nationwide network of authorized resellers. To learn more about HughesNet Business Solutions, visit www.business.hughes.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 1.5 millions 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

¹2008 AT&T Business Continuity Report

©2008 Hughes Network Systems, LLC. All Rights Reserved. HUGHES, HughesNet, and SPACEWAY are trademarks of Hughes Network Systems, LLC.

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SOURCE Hughes Network Systems, LLC