Hughes to Join UK Government and Bharti Enterprises in New OneWeb Consortium

Hughes Agrees in Principle to Invest in and Extend Technology Partnership with the Low Earth Orbit Satellite Company

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Jul 27, 2020, 08:03 ET

GERMANTOWN, Md., July 27, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Hughes Network Systems, LLC (HUGHES), the global leader in broadband satellite networks and services, today announced its participation in the winning consortium, led by the U.K. Government and Bharti Enterprises ("Bharti"), that will acquire OneWeb out of bankruptcy. Hughes has agreed in principle to invest $50 million in the consortium. Additionally, Hughes will continue as a trusted technology and distribution partner to OneWeb, the Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite operator which had launched 74 satellites before filing for Chapter 11 protection in March.

"We are pleased to be part of this winning team, along with the British Government and Bharti," said Pradman Kaul, president, Hughes. "Our continuing and strengthened involvement with OneWeb extends naturally from our position as a leading geostationary satellite operator and ground network innovator, along with a meaningful partnership with Bharti and longstanding relationship with the U.K. through our business operations in both countries."

Mr. Kaul continued: "This global consortium brings the right players together to fulfill the promise of the OneWeb constellation in deploying low-latency services for communities, enterprises, governments, airplanes and ships – complementing geostationary connectivity and ushering in the new era of multi-transport services that will serve growing bandwidth demand around the world. We look forward to doing our part in developing this groundbreaking technology and bringing those services to market."

Sunil Bharti Mittal, Founder and Chairman, Bharti Enterprises said, "We are delighted to welcome Hughes to the consortium. The investment by Hughes underlines OneWeb's exciting commercial prospects, reflected in the ongoing discussions with some of the world's leading strategic and financial investors."

Consummation of the consortium is contingent upon execution and effectiveness of definitive agreements. Confirmation of OneWeb's reorganization is contingent on certain conditions established by the Bankruptcy Court.

Through its Hughes Europe division, which is headquartered outside of London, and sister company EchoStar Mobile Limited, Hughes has worked closely with the U.K. Government. Furthermore, Hughes Communications India Ltd, (HCIL), a majority-owned subsidiary of Hughes, and Bharti Airtel Limited ("Airtel"), a leading Indian telecom provider affiliated with Bharti, are in the process of combining their satellite broadband operations in India. The merger, which was announced in 2019, is pending regulatory approvals and is expected to bring greater scale, operational efficiencies and market reach to deliver solutions for enterprise and government networks.

About Hughes Network Systems
Hughes Network Systems, LLC (HUGHES) is the global leader in broadband satellite technology and services for home and office. Its flagship high-speed satellite Internet service is HughesNet^®, the world's largest satellite network with over 1.5 million residential and business customers across the Americas. For large enterprises and governments, the company's HughesON™ managed network services provide complete connectivity solutions employing an optimized mix of satellite and terrestrial technologies. The JUPITER™ System is the world's most widely deployed High-Throughput Satellite (HTS) platform, operating on more than 40 satellites by leading service providers, delivering a wide range of broadband enterprise, mobility and cellular backhaul applications. To date, Hughes has shipped more than 7 million terminals of all types to customers in over 100 countries, representing approximately 50 percent market share, and its technology is powering broadband services to aircraft around the world.

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. For additional information about Hughes, please visit www.hughes.com and follow @HughesConnects on Twitter.

About EchoStar
EchoStar Corporation (NASDAQ: SATS) is a premier global provider of satellite communication solutions. Headquartered in Englewood, Colo., and conducting business around the globe, EchoStar is a pioneer in secure communications technologies through its Hughes Network Systems and EchoStar Satellite Services business segments. For more information, visit echostar.com. Follow @EchoStar on Twitter.

SOURCE Hughes Network Systems, LLC