Hughes Launches Managed Services Offering for the Electric Utilities Market to Aid...

Hughes Launches Managed Services Offering for the Electric Utilities Market to
Aid in Smart Grid Efforts

Hughes Utilities Solutions offers utility companies a range of secure,
reliable, broadband IP networking options to help meet NERC-CIP security
requirements

GERMANTOWN, Md., March 30 /PRNewswire/ -- Hughes Network Systems, LLC
(HUGHES), the global leader in broadband satellite network solutions and
services and a leading managed services provider, today announced the
availability of Hughes Utilities Solutions for the electric utility industry.
Hughes Utilities Solutions provides 100% nationwide coverage and is designed
to cost effectively improve real-time communications and monitoring of
distributed transmission and sub-station facilities as part of the electric
utility industry's smart grid efforts to become more efficient in the
distribution of power to consumers. Hughes Utilities Solutions comprises a
suite of high-performance, secure, and reliable open architecture, IP-based
broadband solutions designed to help meet the North American Electric
Reliability Corporation (NERC) critical infrastructure protection (CIP)
security requirement.

The North American Electric Reliability Corporation, which is overseen by the
U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and government authorities in
Canada, has established mandates for the security of data to and from utility
generation stations and substations through a set of critical infrastructure
protection (CIP) requirements.

Hughes Utilities Solutions helps meet these requirements by providing utility
companies with a single-source managed broadband solution which supports
multiple business operations while reducing costs, improving security, and
meeting NERC-CIP requirements. Designed to provide scalability, enhanced
reliability, and to improve real-time communications, Hughes Utility Solutions
can help the utility industry optimize grid performance, prevent outages, and
restore outages more quickly, and as a result of these efficiency gains,
reduce greenhouse gases as part of their new smart grid initiatives.

Hughes Utilities Solutions offers the utility industry a range of access
technologies including DSL, cable, T1, EVDO, and satellite to deliver
nationwide broadband coverage wherever their critical transmission and
distribution infrastructure assets are located.

A fully managed broadband offering, Hughes Utilities Solutions creates a
seamless network service by using the most efficient and cost-effective
technology at each site -- whether landline or satellite -- resulting in a
uniform, cost-efficient, secure, and highly reliable broadband service at each
location. In addition, the solution can provide a path diverse backup network
for extremely high availability. Hughes Utilities Solutions includes 24x7
operations, network management, proactive fault resolution and field
maintenance and supports serial protocols, as well as multiple applications.

"The utility industry can leverage Hughes Utilities Solutions to help meet
NERC-CIP requirements and at the same time, consolidate their costly legacy
networks into scalable, future-proof broadband IP networks," said Mike Cook,
senior vice president, Hughes. "By providing the industry with a
cost-effective, more reliable, more efficient wide area network, Hughes can
help the electric utility industry become more efficient as they meet their
important smart grid objectives."

Hughes Utilities Solutions is offered in North America directly from Hughes'
business and government divisions, as well from Hughes system integrators and
resellers. To learn more about Hughes Utilities Solutions, please visit
www.business.hughesnet.com/industries/utilities-solutions.

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

SOURCE Hughes Network Systems, LLC

Judy Blake of Hughes Network Systems, +1-301-601-7330, judy.blake@hughes.com;
or Wunmi Bamiduro of Brodeur Partners for Hughes Network Systems,
+1-202-775-2656, wbamiduro@brodeur.com