Hughes Distance Education Program in Amazon Receives IMS Learning Impact Award

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Hughes Distance Education Program in Amazon Receives IMS Learning Impact Award

Brazilian initiative wins Gold Award; named Best Student Success Solution

Germantown, Md./São Paulo, Brasil, May 28, 2009— Hughes Network Systems, LLC (HUGHES), the world's leading provider of broadband satellite solutions and services, today announced that its Brazilian operating company, Hughes do Brasil, received a Gold Learning Impact Award from the IMS Global Learning Consortium at their annual conference in Barcelona, Spain for its distance learning solution provided to the Education and Quality of Teaching Department of the State of Amazonas (SEDUC-AM). In addition, the project was named “Best in Category: Student Success Solution.” The Learning Impact Awards (LIAs) recognize the use of technology to improve learning across all educational segments and in all regions of the world.

The Brazilian project, which provides educational programming over satellite to more than 20,000 students in Amazonas, was chosen out of more than 300 applications that were submitted. The criteria for choosing the best projects included accessibility, availability, quality, adoption, final use, organizational learning, interoperability and innovation.

The program utilizes the HughesNet^® two-way, broadband satellite service from Hughes along with IPTV (television over the IP protocol) software to transmit classes conducted every day from the media center in Manaus to more than 20,000 students located in rural communities. The technology allows teachers and students to interact as if they were in the same physical space.

“When we started the program, almost 60% of the communities did not have regular electrical power and we had to buy diesel generators to enable the classrooms to receive the programming. Thanks to the project's success, we have taken the classes to other communities and that's very positive,” stated José Augusto de Melo Neto, coordinator of the Education Media Center of Amazonas. “In 2010, we plan to offer classes for elementary school and to expand the number of classrooms from 700 to 1,000, which will benefit 25,000 students.”

“The technological design of this project is at the forefront of providing worldwide basic education. When we introduced the program, we were aware that the entire world was moving towards using technology as a tool to deliver education,” said Professor Gedeão Timóteo Amorim, State Secretary for Education and Quality of Teaching of Amazonas.

“Hughes is very proud to receive this award. It demonstrates the importance of technology in delivering education to all students, no matter where they live, said Renê Birocchi, business director for Hughes do Brasil's education solutions. “The HUGHES and SEDUC-AM project is a high-impact and very visible program within the educational sector in Brazil and a milestone in distance education.”

About IMS Global Learning Consortium and the Learning Impact Awards

IMS Global Learning Consortium creates standards for technologies that assist in learning in the education and corporate sectors. Its members are worldwide leaders in educational and learning technologies. IMS's Learning Impact Awards recognize superior technology that expertly addresses learning challenges found in education and business.

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 .