Hughes Awarded 2007 SSPI Industry Innovators Award

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Hughes Awarded 2007 SSPI Industry Innovators Award

Company Honored for its SPACEWAY™ 3 Technology Leadership

Germantown, Md., Feb. 27, 2008 — Hughes Network Systems, LLC (HUGHES), the global leader in broadband satellite network solutions and services, today announced that the Society of Satellite Professionals International (SSPI) has presented the company with its 2008 Industry Innovators Award for Systems Development & Applications. Hughes was recognized for its technology leadership in developing SPACEWAY 3, the world's first commercial satellite system to employ on-board switching and routing, at the SSPI gala held on February 26 during the Satellite 2008 industry forum in Washington DC.

“The SSPI Innovations Awards Committee unanimously chose to recognize Hughes for its pioneering work with SPACEWAY 3 in introducing true remote-to-remote mesh networking via fixed satellite services,” said Joe Pelton, chair of the SSPI Innovations Awards Committee. “The ability to provide on-board switching of services and achieve ‘intelligence' on-board a fixed commercial satellite system is a key milestone that has taken us {the industry} many decades to achieve.”

The SPACEWAY system was designed and developed by Hughes as a next-generation, Ka-band broadband satellite system, and is the world's first commercial satellite to employ on-board traffic switching and routing capability. Combined with many other advances in satellite technology, such as 10 Gbps overall capacity, fast packet switching and dynamic beam forming, SPACEWAY 3 ushers in a new world of HughesNet^® bandwidth-on-demand services with true site-to-site, single-hop networking of high-performance ground terminals. Launched on August 14, 2007 , and positioned in geo-stationary orbit in December, SPACEWAY 3 is undergoing final testing, and is being phased into commercial service over the next few weeks.

“ We are honored to be the 2007 recipient of the SSPI Industry Innovators Award for developing SPACEWAY 3,” said Pradman Kaul, Hughes chairman and CEO. “It not only positions Hughes to enter a new era as an integrated satellite system operator, but more significantly, SPACEWAY 3 expands the addressable market for broadband satellite IP services, opening the door for the creation of exciting new bandwidth-on-demand applications and services for our customers.”

The SSPI Industry Innovator Awards program was initiated in 1993 to identify and recognize outstanding new contributions to the field of satellite communications by both private-sector and public-sector organizations. Honorees are chosen for accomplishments ranging across a broad spectrum of advanced satellite technology and business applications.

About SSPI

The Society of Satellite Professionals International is a nonprofit member-benefit society that serves satellite professionals throughout their working lives. With chapters in the US, Canada, UK, Brazil, Nigeria and Japan, SSPI creates opportunities for member education and interaction, honors achievement and recognizes potential in the next generation of satellite professionals.

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. Hughes has shipped more than 1.5 million systems to customers in over 100 countries. Its broadband satellite products are based on global standards approved by the TIA, ETSI and ITU standards organizations, including IPoS, RSM-A and GMR-1.

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 .