ARSAT Chooses Hughes JUPITER™ System to Extend Internet Access to 3,000 Communities Across Argentina

Hughes Network Systems, LLC (Hughes), the global leader in broadband satellite solutions and services, today announced that Argentinian telecommunications company ARSAT has chosen the JUPITER™ System to deliver high-speed satellite Internet connectivity to schools and underserved rural areas of the country.

Hughes will provide ARSAT with a latest generation JUPITER System, including gateways and VSATs (Very Small Aperture Terminals) that will operate over the ARSAT 1 and 2 satellites. In the initial phase, approximately 1,000 terminals will connect schools to the Internet toward an eventual goal of 2,000 sites. ARSAT’s JUPITER implementation is part of Argentina’s initiative to increase Internet connectivity and reduce service costs for rural communities that are unserved or underserved by terrestrial broadband services. A particular area of focus is digital inclusion of educational facilities, bringing broadband connectivity to rural schools.

“Argentina has one of the highest rates of Internet connectivity in Latin America, but mostly in urban areas. We are working to build on that by improving the quality and accessibility of service across the country, particularly rural areas,” said Dr. Rodrigo de Loredo, president of ARSAT. “We selected Hughes because their products have the highest-performance and efficiency for quickly expanding service to a large customer base over a big geographical area – which is exactly the challenge we face.”

“Major telecom providers around the world, such as ARSAT, are selecting our JUPITER System to close the digital divide,” said Hugo Frega, senior director for Hughes. “Its cost-efficiency, performance and ease of deployment make JUPITER the smart choice for offering reliable, and affordable Internet access at virtually any location, regardless of distance or terrain.”

The Hughes JUPITER System is one of the world’s most powerful and widely used satellite Internet platforms. It features a flexible and robust gateway architecture with lights-out operation, enhanced IPoS air interface for bandwidth efficiency and performance, and high-throughput terminals. The foundational technology is the powerful JUPITER System on a Chip (SoC), a custom-designed VLSI (Very Large Scale Integration) processor employing a multi-core architecture and enabling 100 Mbps of throughput on every terminal within the JUPITER family.

About ARSAT

ARSAT is an Argentine national telecommunications company. It was created in 2006 to exploit the orbital slots belonging to Argentina by developing the operation of telecommunications satellites built in Argentina and offering all satellite services – voice, data transmission, audio, video – to customers. Since 2010, it has also been in charge of other major telecommunications projects: the Federal Fiber Optical Network, the National Data Center and the national platform for the Argentine System of Direct To Home Free TV.

About Hughes Network Systems

Hughes Network Systems, LLC (Hughes) is the global leader in satellite broadband for home and office, delivering innovative solutions and a comprehensive suite of HughesON™ managed services for enterprises and governments worldwide. HughesNet® is the #1 high-speed satellite Internet service in the marketplace, with offerings to suit every budget. To date, Hughes has shipped more than 5 million systems to customers in over 100 countries, representing approximately 50 percent market share. Its products employ global standards approved by the TIA, ETSI and ITU organizations, including IPoS/DVB-S2, RSM-A, and GMR-1.

Headquartered outside Washington, D.C., in Germantown, Maryland, USA, Hughes operates sales and support offices worldwide, and is a wholly owned subsidiary of EchoStar Corporation (NASDAQ: SATS), a premier global provider of satellite operations and digital TV solutions. For additional information about Hughes, please visit www.hughes.com.

About EchoStar

EchoStar Corporation (NASDAQ: SATS) is a premier global provider of satellite and video delivery solutions. Headquartered in Englewood, Colo., and conducting business around the globe, EchoStar is a pioneer in secure communications technologies through its EchoStar Satellite Services, EchoStar Technologies and Hughes Network Systems business segments. For more information, visit echostar.com. Follow @EchoStar on Twitter.