FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Rural Small Business Owners Say Broadband Service Critical to SuccessSurvey Identifies Primary Needs Addressed by Broadband Germantown, Md., October 23, 2007— In a recent survey conducted by Hughes Network Systems, LLC (HUGHES), the global leader in broadband satellite network solutions and services, rural small business owners believe broadband access is “extremely important” to their business success. The survey of nearly 600 self-identified small business owners and managers indicated that customer communications, research, and order processing were primary needs addressed by broadband services. Close to 100 percent of those surveyed said that they use the Internet for business purposes regularly. Sixty percent of respondents indicated that they rely on Internet connectivity at work more than 20 hours per week. The majority of small business owners and managers surveyed operate in rural areas—those beyond the reach of DSL and cable broadband service. Prior to the availability of satellite broadband in rural areas, these business people were reliant upon dial-up Internet connections traditionally considered too slow and unreliable for business use. In addition to using satellite broadband services for communications, research, and order processing, the majority of small business respondents also use the Internet to: • Maintain or manage a company Website (32%) According to a recent white paper issued by Public Technology, Inc., “Economics of Broadband Access for Underserved Consumers and Businesses,” “Today [rural] small businesses are increasingly recognizing the cost benefits of satellite broadband [and] there continue to be technological breakthroughs that increase speed and bandwidth, reliability, and quality of service at extremely high levels.” HughesNet® broadband satellite service is two-way and always on, delivering high-speed Internet access without the need for a telephone line. All HughesNet customers, including those surveyed, have access to five (5) e-mail accounts with 2 GB of storage per account, a personalized start page, spam and virus filtering, and easily accessible customer support services. HughesNet is available throughout the continental U.S., and currently serves more than 350,000 consumers and small businesses in nearly 26,000 zip codes underserved by cable and DSL. For more information about HughesNet consumer and small business broadband satellite services, please visit www.hughesnet.com or call 1-866-859-2268. The survey was conducted by email and distributed to more than 20,000 current HughesNet subscribers. More than 580 respondents identified themselves as “small business owners,” or “small business managers,” and provided input to questions about usage trends, business needs and business growth. For additional information or to receive a copy of the survey, please contact dtudesco@brodeur.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. To date, Hughes has shipped more than 1.2 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 . ©2007 Hughes Network Systems, LLC. All Rights Reserved. HUGHES, HUGHESNET, and IPOS are trademarks of Hughes Network Systems, LLC. |
