GERMANTOWN, Md., April 18, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Hughes Network Systems, LLC (HUGHES), the global leader in broadband satellite networks and services, today announced that it was selected by Vodacom Group, Ltd., a leading African communications company, to provide its market-leading HN and HX broadband satellite solutions to help propel Vodacom's aggressive expansion of converged service offerings in South Africa and throughout the continent. Most recently, Vodacom purchased the high power HN9200 and HN9400 Ka/Ku-band terminals to both augment their existing services and in anticipation of the arrival of Ka-band satellite service in Africa.

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Vodacom is South Africa's leading cellular service company, providing mobile voice and data communications and related services to almost 40 million customers. In addition, Vodacom Business Services offers a wide range of converged communications solutions over a variety of technology platforms to enterprise, SME, and public sector customers, including managed VPN, broadband data and Internet connectivity, and converged hosting and application based services.

"We are very pleased to offer a comprehensive portfolio of customized, managed VPN, overlay and broadband satellite services utilizing the Hughes HN and HX satellite systems," said Sean Victor, principal specialist, Converged Satellite at Vodacom Business Services. "Since launching Vodacom Business Services in 2008, we have made significant investments in infrastructure in order to offer a wide variety of services including next-generation IP voice, managed networks and infrastructure, Internet access, hosting, and storage services. With the addition of Hughes technology, we are aggressively expanding our service offerings into specific target markets in South Africa and throughout the African continent."

"Hughes is very excited to be supporting Vodacom Business Services in its rapid expansion of service offerings," said Soheil Mehrabanzad, assistant vice president, Middle East/Africa at Hughes. "Our advanced HN and HX Systems, featuring IPoS/DVB-S2 with the ACM (adaptive coding modulation) feature, deliver highly efficient bandwidth utilization that enables Vodacom to maximize satellite capacity and contain costs as they grow their business."

Hughes has been a leading supplier of broadband systems and solutions to Africa and the Middle East since the early 1990s. Its sales and support teams serve a growing base of customers with satellite-based, broadband IP, multimedia, data, video, and voice solutions.

About Vodacom Group, Ltd.

Vodacom Group Limited (Vodacom) is an African mobile communications company providing voice, messaging, data and converged services to around 40 million customers.  From its roots in South Africa, Vodacom has grown its operations to include networks in Tanzania, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mozambique, and Lesotho and provides carrier and business services to customers in over 40 African countries.

Vodacom is majority owned by Vodafone, one of the world's largest mobile communications companies by revenue, and is listed on the JSE Limited under the symbol VOD.

About Vodacom Business Services

Vodacom Business Services, a division of Vodacom SA, is a leading Next Generation Network provider operating on a single business driver that understands business voice, video and data requirements.

Established in 2008, Vodacom Business Services delivers total communication solutions tailored to the needs of the public sector, large, medium and small companies. Solutions extend from mobile to fixed line access mediums, Virtual Private Networks (VPNs), Voice over IP (VoIP), hosted facilities, cloud computing based hosted services, storage, back up, security and application solutions.

Visit us at vodacom.co.za/business

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 2.5 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 maintains sales and support offices worldwide. Hughes is a wholly owned subsidiary of Hughes Communications, Inc. (NASDAQ: HUGH). For additional information, please visit www.hughes.com

SOURCE Hughes Network Systems, LLC