Hughes Communications India Chosen by C-Edge to Connect 3,000 NABARD Bank Branches with a Satellite Broadband Network

NEW DELHI, Dec. 4 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Hughes Communications India, Ltd (HCIL), a subsidiary of Hughes Network Systems, LLC (Hughes), today announced that it has been chosen by C-Edge to provide over 3,000 branches of the National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) across the country with a broadband satellite network and managed services. The contract is worth Rs. 33 crores (approximately USD 6 million) for a period of five years.

C-Edge, a joint venture between TATA Consultancy Services (TCS) and the State Bank of India (SBI), selected Hughes and its HN System for a turnkey networking solution and services to connect various District Central Cooperative Banks (DCCBs) and State Apex banks in the country. The branches are being integrated onto a central Core Banking Solution, with the first phase covering the states of Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.

The managed services comprise over 3,000 HN9200 very small aperture terminals (VSATs) and shared Network Operations Centre (NOC) services, including satellite bandwidth, hosting, backhaul and end-to-end IPSec management.

"We are delighted and privileged that C-Edge has chosen HCIL for this significant banking sector project," commented Partho Banerjee, president and managing director of HCIL. "Our managed services solution is unique in providing high availability connectivity at all sites by employing broadband satellite as the primary technology and backup over other wireless technologies. Satellite is one of the fastest growing broadband technologies in India and is playing a significant role in facilitating the expansion of the banking sector in India, reaching even more citizens through its continent-wide reach."

Approximately 140 banks have expressed their willingness to participate in the project and signed the necessary Memoranda of Agreement with NABARD. This strategy involves a major transformation of the current information technologies and a significant reengineering of the bank's business processes. Hughes was selected for this project due to its unique solution that has optimized technology, security, cost and operations. The solution is also scalable, enabling potential expansion network to more than 400 banks. The contract underlines HCIL's leadership in providing secure and high availability enterprise solutions through its award-winning satellite networking technology and services.

About NABARD
NABARD is set up as an Apex Development Bank with a mandate for facilitating credit flow for promotion and development of agriculture, small-scale industries, cottage and village industries, handicrafts and other rural crafts. It also has a mandate to support all other allied economic activities in rural areas, promote integrated and sustainable rural development and secure prosperity of rural areas.

About Hughes Communications India
HCIL is a majority owned subsidiary of Hughes Network Systems, LLC (Hughes), the world's largest provider of broadband satellite networks and services. HCIL is the largest satellite service operator in India providing a comprehensive range of broadband networking technologies, solutions, and services for businesses and governments, including Managed Services to meet every communications challenge. More information is available at www.hughes.in.

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 2.8 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 www.hughes.com.

©2012 Hughes Network Systems, LLC, an EchoStar company. Hughes and HughesNet are registered trademarks of Hughes Network Systems, LLC.

SOURCE Hughes Communications India, Ltd