Wessex Water Adopts Hughes Solution for Emergency Response

Communications-on-the-Move Solution Combines Mobile Satellite with Wireless 3G

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Oct 14, 2013, 08:00 ET

GERMANTOWN, Md., Oct. 14, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Wessex Water has implemented a high-availability Communications-on-the-Move (COTM) solution from Hughes Europe, the European operating and sales organization of Hughes Network Systems, LLC (Hughes), to support rapid deployment of its mobile emergency response units in remote areas when disaster strikes, such as flooding.

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Wessex Water provides water and sewage treatment services to 1.3 million people across South West England. The company's emergency response team previously lacked a unified communications system that could operate in areas with little or no wireless 3G coverage. At the same time, Wessex Water was unable to synchronize communications between their mobile units and the HQ Command Centre in areas of limited 3G coverage.

To ensure there is no loss of connectivity, the Hughes solution employs its advanced 9450-C11 mobile satellite terminal operating over the Inmarsat BGAN (Broadband Global Area Network), with automatic failover from 3G service. It also includes a COTM platform, which synchronizes mobile devices and ensures that no time is lost, both on-site and between jobs. The solution includes Quality of Service through Inmarsat and managed services from Hughes via a first-line helpdesk fully integrated with the existing Wessex Water network.

"We're proud to have been chosen by Wessex Water for this critically important service," said Chris O'Dell, vice president, sales and marketing, Hughes Europe. "Until now, Wessex Water's engineers have faced an uncertain communications environment when responding to a major incident. This highly-available solution employing our rugged and easy-to-use mobile terminal ensures reliable communications among the response team, no matter the conditions and where they may be."

Following a successful pilot of the Hughes 9450-C11 terminal, Wessex Water now has complete confidence that, should any critical incidents occur, its dispatch team can maintain constant contact with the Command Centre, as information is streamlined live via a mobile video link.

About Hughes Europe

Hughes Europe is the European operating and sales organization for Hughes Network Systems, LLC (HUGHES) with facilities in Germany, the UK, and Italy. Utilizing its satellite hub earth station and network operations center in Griesheim, Germany, Hughes Europe provides Hughes broadband satellite and terrestrial solutions to large enterprises, government organisations and small businesses throughout the continent, both directly and through a growing family of value-added service providers. These networks support rapid, reliable transmission of data, voice, video, and multimedia content. For more information, please visit www.hugheseurope.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 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