Hughes Appoints New Managing Director for European Business

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Hughes Appoints New Managing Director for European Business

Christopher Britton to spearhead company's expansion across Europe

Milton Keynes, UK, 3 March 2009 — Hughes Network Systems, LLC (HUGHES), the global leader in broadband satellite networks and services, announced today that it has appointed Christopher Britton as managing director of Hughes Europe, the company's European operating and sales unit.

Britton brings with him broad senior management and specialist sector expertise in network integration services, most recently as a founder of ETT, a successful Virtual Network Operator which was sold to a U.S. organisation. Prior to that he held a variety of engineering, sales management and marketing roles at TMI, the international arm of Telecom Italia, Energis, AT&T and BT.

Pradman Kaul, chairman and CEO of Hughes, stated, “Christopher's excellent blend of technical, sales and marketing, and entrepreneurial experience in high-quality network integration companies makes him ideally suited to drive this important next phase of expanding our broadband business across Europe.”

“My appointment at Hughes Europe represents an exciting new challenge,” said Britton. “Hughes is the world's leader in broadband satellite services, a profitable company with an enviable track record in developing cutting-edge technologies that enable competitive edge services for many of the world's leading enterprises. It is very well positioned to expand into new growth areas across Europe, such as mesh satellite services and in the critical area of business access continuity service planning.”

Looking ahead, Hughes Europe plans to extend its core services, such as the provision of hybrid satellite and terrestrial networks, and rural Internet connectivity into emerging markets, in particular Eastern Europe. Building on its strength in such diverse markets as retail, petrochemicals and the lottery sector, the company's objective is to seize other market opportunities demanding large, internationally-based network infrastructures.

About Hughes Europe

From its locations in Germany, the UK, and Italy, Hughes Europe provides satellite and terrestrial broadband solutions and managed services for private enterprises and government organizations. These networks support rapid, reliable transmission of data, voice, video, and multimedia content. For more information, please visit www.hugheseurope.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 1.9 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 .