Hughes Europe Awarded 10 Year Contract by Emtele for Broadband Satellite Network Services

MILTON KEYNES, England, Oct. 9, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Hughes Europe, the European subsidiary of the global leader in satellite broadband solutions, Hughes Network Systems, LLC (Hughes), today announced that it has been awarded a contract by Emtele, a specialist value-added reseller in global machine-to-machine (M2M) solutions for remote monitoring, to supply high availability satellite connectivity services as part of a ten-year Smart Grid project for Finnish energy giant, Elenia. Based on the contract, Hughes Europe and Emtele have together now successfully implemented the Smart Grid solution and it has been fully taken into production by Elenia.

At the heart of the solution is Emtele's broadband FieldCom® network service, which utilizes the very robust Hughes HN System platform and related satellite services for nationwide coverage, providing high availability connectivity to all electric distribution substations that are without access to reliable terrestrial networks. The high service level agreement is essential to achieve Elenia's very strict requirements for connection service availability and quality because electric distribution is a national, critical infrastructure. 

Hannu Martikainen, CEO, Emtele, said, "We chose Hughes Europe, as the company's advanced satellite technology has an unrivalled track record of reliability and is backed by a highly responsive service support capability. Looking ahead, Hughes' large footprint will also allow us to meet Elenia's expansion plans and to serve other key customers like them."          

The communication network will enable Elenia to remotely monitor more than a thousand unmanned energy substations and other sites throughout Finland for the purposes of electric distribution remote management, including both security and maintenance.

"A key requirement in securing the contract was for our satellite solution to match the high level of resilience, availability and quality-of-service of the rest of the monitoring network," said Chris O'Dell, vice president of sales and marketing, Hughes Europe. "Hughes technology is extremely resilient, and has been proven in cold environments such as Siberia and Alaska to cope with the ice and low temperatures of the Nordic region. We look forward to expanding our cooperation with Emtele to deliver Smart Grid solutions across the region and Europe."

About Emtele
Emtele is a fast growing, innovative M2M service company providing communication network services to remotely monitor and manage devices and machines. Emtele, together with energy customers and partner ecosystems, has developed and rolled out Smart Grid enabling full-service concept FieldCom® to energy distribution customers. Emtele will offer new value-added services like fully automated remote safety and security management that use FieldCom as the data transfer network.

Another fast growing customer area for Emtele is the health care industry where the focus is on elderly people and the provision of chronic care at home and at care centers. The safety and security at home can be guaranteed with intelligent mobile sensors, monitoring and alarming through the Internet. The concept also includes remote medical diagnostics with all important mobile measurements such as EGC.

Emtele Ltd is 80% privately owned with the Finnish state holding 20% of the shares. Emtele has opened new market opportunities in Europe together with global and local partners. For more information, please visit www.emtele.com.

About Elenia
Elenia Verkko Oy operates in more than one hundred municipalities in the center of Finland in Tavastia, Pirkanmaa, Central Finland and Ostrobothnia, distributing electricity to its 408,000 customers. Elenia is responsible for network maintenance and is building new network and electricity connections with its local business partners. As a pioneer in smart electricity networks, Elenia has integrated power distribution and data systems into a comprehensive smart electricity distribution grid that provides and applies information in real time. To improve the reliability of power distribution, Elenia is using underground lines in all network construction. For additional information, please visit www.elenia.fi.

About Hughes Europe
Hughes Europe is the European operating and sales organisation for Hughes Network Systems, LLC (Hughes) with facilities in Germany, the UK, and Italy. Utilising its satellite hub earth station and network operations centre in Griesheim, Germany, Hughes Europe provides 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 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 Europe