Satellite Broadband Customers Sign Up for Speed

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Satellite Broadband Customers Sign Up for Speed

Forty Percent of New Customers Adopt High-End HughesNet Plans

Consumer Electronics Show, Las Vegas, Nev., January 9, 2007—Hughes Network Systems, LLC (HUGHES), the global leader in broadband satellite network solutions and services, today announced the rapid adoption of high-end HughesNet™ plans by its growing customer base, largely in the underserved areas of the United States. Buying preferences demonstrate the trend toward speed and features over price, indicating that performance is the most important driver of broadband purchasing decisions.

Today’s consumers want to download songs and video clips, and email pictures to and from family and friends,” said Jimmy Schaeffler, chairman and CEO, chief service officer and senior analyst at the Carmel Group. “Frustrated by slow dial-up, larger percentages of consumers living in areas overlooked by terrestrial broadband providers are choosing satellite for their broadband needs.”

Since launching its broadband by satellite service, Hughes has continued to increase the range of service plans available, culminating in today’s broad range of five plans offering download speeds as high as two megabits per second.

“The new HughesNet high-performance service plans are generating considerable demand and we have seen a significant increase in the uptake of these premium services, doubling the approximately 20 percent of new customers in 2005 to about 40 percent in 2006,” said Mike Cook, senior vice president of Hughes.

“Consumers living in areas not served by terrestrial broadband are finally taking a stance,” said Cook. “They are making it clear that they want to enjoy all the benefits of a broadband connection and they want to do it at high speed. Hughes is meeting this demand by providing fast and reliable satellite broadband to consumers throughout the US, regardless of geography, putting all the benefits of the Internet right at their fingertips.”

The HughesNet service is the leading, two-way broadband satellite Internet solution in the United States, available anywhere in the contiguous States with a clear view of the southern sky. For more information about HughesNet ISP services, please visit www.myhughesnet.com or call 1-866-556-9660.

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. To date, Hughes has shipped more than one million systems to customers in over 100 countries. Its broadband satellite products are based on the IPoS (IP over Satellite) global standard, approved by the TIA, ETSI, and ITU standards organizations.

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.

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