Hughes Awarded Custom SATCOM Solutions Contract by GSA

Company to Provide Commercial Satellite End-to-End Communications to Federal Civilian, Defense and Intelligence Agencies

News provided by

Hughes Network Systems, LLC

Sep 17, 2012, 10:28 ET

GERMANTOWN, Md., Sept. 17, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Hughes Network Systems, LLC (HUGHES), the global leader in broadband satellite solutions and services, and a leading provider of managed network and application services, today announced that it has been awarded a Custom Satellite Communications Solutions (CS2) contract by the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) to provide commercial satellite end-to-end communications to government customers.

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

The contract is a multiple award, Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) vehicle and the final component of the Future COMSATCOM Services Acquisition (FCSA) program, a joint acquisition program between the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) and GSA that enables government agencies to purchase satellite communications. The term of the contract is for a base period of three years with two, one-year options.

"This contract ushers in the next generation in government satellite communications," said Tony Bardo, assistant vice president for government solutions at Hughes. "The path-diverse nature of satellite technology enables agencies to provide mission-critical functions, such as emergency communications for Continuity of Operations (COOP) planning and emergency responder operations, as well as communications support in remote areas through distance learning and telemedicine."

Under the contract, Hughes will provide COMSATCOM end-to-end solutions to meet the unique needs of government customers, including fixed satellite services and/or mobile satellite services, components and equipment such as terminals, teleports, circuits, Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) cards and peripherals. In addition, Hughes will provide the following services:

Design and engineering services
Ongoing maintenance and operational support services
Customer care and helpdesk support
Training

"Commercial SATCOM is essential to a resilient, adaptive and robust SATCOM architecture for the U.S. military," said Rick Lober, vice president and general manager, Defense and Intelligence Systems Division at Hughes. "We look forward to implementing end-to-end, systems level solutions that utilize our broad array of cost-effective and bandwidth efficient SATCOM technologies to enhance communication and security both within and across federal civilian, defense and intelligence agencies."

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.

SOURCE Hughes Network Systems, LLC