Hughes Signs Agreement with the Brazilian State of Santa Catarina

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Hughes Signs Agreement with the Brazilian State of
Santa Catarina

HughesNet^® Broadband Satellite Service Will Connect 423 Locations in the State

Germantown, Md., USA, April 22, 2009 — Hughes Network Systems, LLC (HUGHES), the global leader in satellite broadband networks and services, today announced that its Brazilian operating unit, Hughes do Brasil, has signed an agreement with the State of Santa Catarina (SEA-SC) Administration Department to provide broadband satellite service to the state's agencies. The company's nationwide HughesNet service offerings including voice, data, and video, will be delivered to 423 agency locations in Santa Catarina state which are not covered by a terrestrial network. The contract period is for 36 months.

The service will interconnect many state agencies such as the Departments of Education, Health, Infrastructure, the State Police, and other regional departments. Key benefits of HughesNet are the expansion and increased flexibility of communications between the various administrative entities and their management, while maintaining high quality and reducing operational costs by approximately 60 percent.

According to Luiz Carlos Pereira Maroso, manager of Information Technology for the Santa Catarina State Administration Department, “This project will enable our government agencies to make better informed decisions more quickly as we manage public resources, providing greater control and ensuring a higher quality of governance. We look forward to the completion of the project in 2010, which will help all the cities in the state.”

“This important contract further validates Hughes leadership in providing satellite communication services to the government sector in Brazil, and opens up possibilities for future projects with Santa Catarina state and other governments throughout the country,” said Delio Morais, president of Hughes do Brasil.

About Santa Catarina, Brazil

Santa Catarina is a state in southern Brazil with one of the highest standards of living in the country. It is in a very strategic position in Mercosur, the South American Common Market. Florianópolis, its capital, is 1,673 km (1,039 miles) from Brasilia, 705 km (438 miles) from São Paulo, 1,144 km (710 miles) from Rio de Janeiro and 1,850 km (1,149 miles) from Buenos Aires. Santa Catarina's industrial sector is the largest component of GDP at 52.5%, followed by the service sector at 33.9%. Agriculture represents 13.6% of GDP (2004).

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 .