Hughes Expands Managed Network Services for African Development Bank

Services include MPLS cloud circuits to regional banks and broadband connectivity in 32 countries

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Apr 02, 2013, 07:00 ET

GERMANTOWN, Md., April 2, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Hughes Network Systems, LLC (HUGHES), the global leader in broadband satellite solutions and a leading provider of managed network services, today announced that it was awarded a contract by the African Development Bank (AfDB), with headquarters in Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire and operating from its Temporary Relocation Agency in Tunis, Tunisia, to expand managed satellite services for the AfDB and also to provide MPLS connectivity in the region.

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AfDB has been a Hughes managed services customer since 2008, employing a primary communications network of broadband satellite terminals installed in 32 AfDB field offices throughout Africa. The expansion contract calls for Hughes to provide MPLS circuits at four AfDB sites, with backhaul (STM1) services to Tunisian headquarters from a teleport in Germany. Major applications include SAP, VoIP, video conferencing and high-speed Internet access.

"Hughes has been a valued managed services provider to AfDB for many years," said David Wu, Director, at AfDB. "Their superior pro-active monitoring and field services have earned my trust. My team can call on one trusted source which allows them to focus on our core competency -- banking IT. We count on the continued support of Hughes and plan to integrate Hughes into our portfolio of telecommunications service providers we present to our clients."

Kamran Givpoor, vice president of Global Managed Services at Hughes, said, "We are proud to have earned AfDB's trust and to be chosen as a valued partner in meeting their entire wide area network needs."

AfDB has stringent requirements for their network including: high availability; uniform SLA and QoS offerings; a single vendor to provide full turnkey managed services and ongoing system engineering, installation and field maintenance; monthly reporting, statistics and quarterly reviews on usage and performance; and 24 x 7 multi-lingual help desk.

About African Development Bank
The African Development Bank (AfDB) Group is a multi-lateral development finance institution established to contribute to the economic development and the social progress of African countries. The African Development Group comprises three entities: the African Development Bank (AfDB), the African Development Fund (ADF) and the Nigeria Trust Fund (NTF). The AfDB Group is one of the five major multilateral development banks in the world that provides assistance to its regional member countries with a view to helping them achieve their development goals. Combating poverty is at the heart of the AfDB's effort to assist the continent to attain sustainable economic growth. The AfDB Group seeks to stimulate and mobilize internal and external resources to promote investments as well as provide Regional Member Countries (RMCs) with technical assistance.

The AfDB Group supports policy reforms, capacity building, knowledge sharing, studies and preparation of development projects. The AfDB's strategic areas include: the private sector, supporting economic and governance reforms; promoting higher education, technology and vocational training; and promoting regional integration. Through these core investment areas the AfDB Group provides support to fragile states, low income countries, middle-income countries, agriculture and rural development, social and human development, the environment and climate change, and gender issues.

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 3.3 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