Yahsat and Hughes to Form Joint Venture to Deliver Satellite Broadband Services

Paris (ots/PRNewswire) -

Hughes and Yahsat to provide commercial Ka-band satellite
broadband service across Africa, Middle East and southwest Asia

Yahsat, a leading global satellite operator based in the United
Arab Emirates (UAE) and wholly owned by Mubadala Investment Company,
and Hughes Network Systems (HUGHES), a subsidiary of EchoStar
Corporation (NASDAQ: SATS), today announced an agreement to enter
into a joint venture to provide commercial Ka-band satellite
broadband services across Africa, the Middle East and southwest Asia.
This new venture combines Hughes deep expertise as the global leader
in broadband satellite networks and services with Yahsat's unique
position and knowledge as the leader in satellite broadband solutions
across these regions. Hughes will purchase a minority interest in the
venture.

(Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/741560/Yahsat_Logo.jpg )

(Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/741562/Hughes_Logo.jpg )

The new venture will continue to provide unserved and underserved
communities with reliable, high-speed Internet services operating
over Yahsat's Al Yah 2 (AY2) and Al Yah 3 (AY3) Ka-band satellites,
and leveraging the capabilities of the Hughes JUPITER(TM) System,
designed and optimized for large scale High-Throughput Satellites
(HTS). Hughes will also supply its proven Operating and Business
Support System (OSS/BSS) solutions for comprehensive network
operations and management.

Initially, the venture will focus on "direct-to-premise services"
to homes and small- to medium-sized enterprises, and to community
centers and schools that are served under local government programs
across these regions. In parallel, there will be an increased focus
on "community hotspot" solutions to make satellite-enabled broadband
more accessible to many more users across the AY2 and AY3 footprint,
which currently covers more than 1 billion people. In addition, the
venture will also aim to capitalize on the accelerating transition
towards Ka-band based backhaul and carrier solutions from mobile
network operators.

Masood M. Sharif Mahmood, chief executive officer, Yahsat said:
"The partnership with Hughes plays a significant role in Yahsat's
growth story and serves as an important step in achieving our vision
to providing global satellite broadband services to individuals,
communities, governments and businesses in unserved and underserved
communities. Yahsat's remarkable track record and experience in
operating YahClick, combined with Hughes technology leadership and
experience, are a winning proposition to unlock the mass market
potential of satellite broadband services across the region. I am
very pleased to see our longstanding partnership with Hughes as a
supplier over the years now advance to this strategic and very
important joint venture for Yahsat."

Pradman Kaul, president of Hughes, said: "Yahsat has been a valued
customer for many years, incorporating our JUPITER System and
operating expertise into their services. This next step in our
relationship is a natural evolution that builds on our shared
commitment to connecting the unconnected and reflects our strategy to
partner with leading providers around the world. Our investment in
this venture will expand our presence in Africa, the Middle East and
southwest Asia markets, where broadband demand is expected to grow
exponentially in the coming years."

Completion of the transaction is subject to customary regulatory
approvals and closing conditions, and is expected to occur later this
year.

Press Conference

Yahsat and Hughes will host a press conference on Tuesday,
September 11 at 2:30 p.m. Paris time at the Westin Paris. Members of
the media who cannot attend in person are invited to join by
teleconference. For details, please visit:
http://www.hughes.com/pressconference .

About Yahsat

For more information, visit http://www.yahsat.ae.

About Hughes Network Systems

For additional information about Hughes, please visit
http://www.hughes.com and follow @HughesConnects
(https://twitter.com/search?q=%40hughesconnects&src=typd) on Twitter.

About EchoStar

For more information, visit http://www.echostar.com. Follow
@EchoStar (https://twitter.com/echostar) on Twitter.

ots Originaltext: Yahsat
Im Internet recherchierbar: http://www.presseportal.de

Contact:
Sharyn Nerenberg
Hughes Network Systems
LLC
+1-(301)-428-7124
Sharyn.Nerenberg@hughes.com

Susan Goodell
MWWPR
+1-(202)-600-4547
sgoodell@mww.com

Original-Content von: Yahsat, übermittelt durch news aktuell