Reliance Jio Selects Hughes India for Nationwide Satellite Backhaul Network to Extend 4G/LTE Service to Remote and Rural Areas

Hughes JUPITER System will connect more than 400 cell sites of India's largest mobile operator beyond the reach of terrestrial backhaul service

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Hughes Network Systems, LLC

Sep 13, 2018, 15:02 ET

NEW DELHI, India, Sept. 13, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Hughes Communications India Limited (HCIL), a subsidiary of Hughes Network Systems, LLC (HUGHES), today announced that Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd. (Jio), the largest 4G and mobile broadband digital services provider in India, has selected the Hughes JUPITER™ System to enable satellite connectivity to more than 400 4G/LTE sites in remote and rural locations. Hughes, the global leader in broadband satellite networks and services, and Jio were both recognized in Fortune's 2018 Change the World list of the top 10 companies that make a positive social impact as part of their core business strategy. Jio ranked number one on the list for expanding Internet access in India, including via its 4G network, which will leverage JUPITER System technology to connect locations beyond the reach of terrestrial backhaul technology.

"After an extensive evaluation of the satellite technology on the market, we felt strongly that the Hughes JUPITER System, with its high-throughput terminals and future-proof multiservice capabilities, provided the ideal performance and efficiency for supporting connectivity to our 4G/LTE sites," said Jyotindra Thacker, group president, Reliance Jio. "The JUPITER satellite system is key to enabling our vision of providing ubiquitous and seamless connectivity to each and every part of the country, and we believe Hughes has the experience and expertise to support this large project."

"The fact that Jio selected Hughes to underpin this large 4G/LTE satellite backhaul network is a testament to the superior performance and efficiency enabled by our JUPITER System," said Partho Banerjee, president, Hughes Communications India. "Satellite is the ideal technology for extending 4G/LTE service to remote and rural communities beyond the reach of terrestrial backhaul, and we look forward to working with Jio to support its work in connecting the unconnected in India."

The JUPITER System is a high-performance, field-proven satellite networking solution that backhauls all generations of cellular technologies. The system delivers more than 200 Mbps of TCP throughput per terminal and includes built-in 4G/LTE optimization capability that can yield 30 to 60 percent bandwidth savings versus that of standard satellite backhaul solutions.

Under the agreement with Jio, Hughes India will provide a managed service to include network planning, implementation, operation and maintenance.

About Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited
Reliance Jio Infocomm Limited ("Jio"), a subsidiary of Reliance Industries Limited ("RIL"), has built a world-class all-IP data strong future proof network with latest 4G LTE technology. It is the only network conceived and born as a Mobile Video Network from the ground up and supporting Voice over LTE technology. It is future ready and can be easily upgraded to support even more data, as technologies advance on to 5G, 6G and beyond.

Jio brings transformational changes in digital services space to enable the vision of Digital India for 1.2 billion Indians and propel India into global leadership in digital economy. It has created an eco-system comprising network, devices, applications and content, service experience and affordable tariffs for everyone to live the Jio Digital Life. As part of its customer offers, Jio has revolutionised the Indian telecom landscape by making voice calls for Jio customers absolutely free, across India, to any network, and always. Jio makes India the highest quality, most affordable data market in the world so that every Indian can do Datagiri.

About Hughes Communications India
HCIL is a majority owned subsidiary of Hughes Network Systems, LLC (HUGHES), the world's largest provider of broadband satellite networks and services. HCIL is the largest satellite service operator in India providing a comprehensive range of broadband networking technologies, solutions, and services for businesses and governments, including Managed Services to meet every communications challenge. More information is available at www.hughes.in.

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 1.2 million residential and business customers across North and South America. 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 20 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 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 www.echostar.com. Follow @EchoStar on Twitter.

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