Hughes and Bharti Airtel Win Innovation Award for Integrated Satellite Broadband Solution in Africa

GERMANTOWN, Maryland, June 27, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --

 - Bharti Airtel utilizes Hughes broadband satellite solution to help close the digital divide, providing Internet access, rural telephony and GSM backhaul in Mali, West Africa

Hughes Network Systems, LLC (Hughes), the global leader in broadband satellite solutions and services, and its customer, leading telecom company Bharti Airtel, were named as winners of the Global Telecoms Business (GTB) Innovation Award for Satellite Voice and Data Innovation for their African SOTELMA project. The annual GTB Award ceremony, which took place in London earlier in June, celebrated the most innovative and exciting projects undertaken by operators and vendors globally, which are making a significant difference in connecting the world.

(Logo:  http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110112/NE29456LOGO )

Utilizing the advanced Hughes HX broadband satellite platform, Bharti Airtel implemented a cost-effective, integrated solution for its customer, Sotelma, an important service provider in Mali, to offer a wide range of business services to their enterprise customers throughout the country. The award-winning solution enables services such as broadband Internet/Intranet access, GSM backhaul, and rural telephony, including connectivity to the national public switched telephone network (PSTN) in even the most remote parts of the country.  

"We are honored to receive this award with Bharti Airtel, which is a tribute to the hard work of all who contributed to this unique project," said Robert Feierbach, vice president of global sales and marketing, International at Hughes. "Helping close the digital divide is a worldwide imperative, and especially important in African nations such as Mali, where our flexible HX solution sets a new standard in enabling high quality and cost-effective broadband services for local businesses."  

Soheil Mehrabanzad, assistant vice president, Middle East/Africa region at Hughes stated, "This award reflects the strong relationship between Hughes and Bharti Airtel and how well we worked together to deliver this important project."      

For more information on the Awards, visit http://www.globaltelecomsbusiness.com.

About Hughes Network Systems

Hughes Network Systems, LLC (Hughes) is the world's leading provider of satellite broadband for home and office, delivering innovative network technologies, managed services, and solutions for enterprises and governments globally. HughesNet® is the #1 high-speed satellite Internet service in the marketplace, with offerings to suit every budget. To date, Hughes has shipped more than 2.5 million systems to customers in over 100 countries, representing over 50 percent market share. Its products employ global standards approved by the TIA, ETSI and ITU organizations, including IPoS/DVB-S2, RSM-A, and GMR-1.

Headquartered outside Washington, D.C., in Germantown, Maryland, USA, Hughes operates sales and support offices worldwide, and is a wholly owned subsidiary of EchoStar Corporation (NASDAQ: SATS), a premier global provider of satellite operations and digital TV solutions. For additional information about Hughes, please visit http://www.hughes.com.

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