Hughes accepts Spaceway handover from Boeing

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Hughes Accepts Handover of Spaceway 3 Satellite from Boeing

Germantown, Md., December 18, 2007— Hughes Network Systems, LLC (Hughes) today announced the successful on-orbit handover of the Spaceway™ 3 commercial communications satellite from Boeing. Hughes will utilize the Boeing-built satellite to provide HughesNet^® broadband satellite services throughout North America.

“Boeing and Hughes have worked side-by-side over the last several months to ensure that we reach this point successfully,” said Howard Chambers, vice president and general manager of Boeing Space and Intelligence Systems.

“We are excited to accept the handover of Spaceway 3 and to begin our pre-commercial service testing,” said Pradman Kaul, chairman and CEO of Hughes. “Since the launch of the Boeing 702-model satellite on August 14 everything has proceeded on schedule, and we are grateful to Boeing for completing the in-orbit placement successfully. We look forward to delivering new, two-way broadband communications services for enterprise, consumer, SMB, and government markets in the near future.”

About Boeing

For more than 40 years, Boeing has been manufacturing high-quality satellites that have shaped the industry and changed the way people live and work all over the world. From the bent-pipe payloads of the early 1990s to today's broadband, multimedia processors that are equivalent to 10,000 modern personal computer processors, Boeing has increased satellite throughput capability by 20 times.

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 1.2 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 .